


the blazing colors of scandal

by jessiohhh



Series: The Brooklyn Verse [2]
Category: IT (1990), IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:26:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 25,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24362773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessiohhh/pseuds/jessiohhh
Summary: The Losers Club are just trying to live their life together; sure they’ve got pretty important jobs and some of them are in the limelight, but all they want is to live their lives together, to be happy, and to stay in love for the rest of their lives. It should be pretty simple, right?Well, it was until someone took it upon themselves to make their relationships their business. Now, the losers are looking at a scandal that could break their careers. How are they going to handle it? Is it easiest to break up and live a more normal life, or are they really in this for the long haul?
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom/Eddie Kaspbrak, Ben Hanscom/Richie Tozier, Ben Hanscom/Stanley Uris, Beverly Marsh/Richie Tozier, Beverly Marsh/Stanley Uris, Bill Denbrough/Ben Hanscom, Bill Denbrough/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Beverly Marsh/Richie Tozier, Bill Denbrough/Eddie Kaspbrak, Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon, Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon/Ben Hanscom/Eddie Kaspbrak/Beverly Marsh/Richie Tozier/Stanley Uris, Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon/Stanley Uris, Bill Denbrough/Richie Tozier, Bill Denbrough/Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Stanley Uris, Everyone & Everyone, Everyone/Everyone, Mike Hanlon/Ben Hanscom, Mike Hanlon/Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Mike Hanlon/Beverly Marsh, Mike Hanlon/Eddie Kaspbrak, Mike Hanlon/Richie Tozier, Mike Hanlon/Stanley Uris, Richie Tozier/Stanley Uris
Series: The Brooklyn Verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1749781
Comments: 20
Kudos: 68





	1. chapter one

Early mornings started quietly in the Loser Club clubhouse. Detangling himself first from the pile of bodies in bed, Ben would quietly slip out of the master bedroom and down to his room where he’d throw on a pair of sweat pants and running shoes before the sun even started to rise. He’d slip his earbuds in his ears, lock the house up for his sleeping lovers, and make his way out for the first exercise he’d get of the day. A quick five-mile run, and Ben was back home and slipping into the shower he sometimes shared with Mike and Richie while someone showered in the bathroom above his. 

Tankless water heaters had been the biggest saving grace of the household. Before they had been installed, it was a daily battle of who would get to use the hot water first, but now they all could shower separately if they wanted and still have hot water to spare.

He finished up in the shower quickly; a day on a construction site would make him need a shower again in the evening, but he preferred to go to work clean if he could help it. He’d brush his teeth, style his hair, and slip into a pair of nice fitting jeans, a button up shirt, and grab a sport coat and he’d be ready for the day. 

He made his way downstairs and started the industrial sized coffee pot. He threw toast into the toaster, and he began scrambling eggs for breakfast. None of it took very long to do, but making enough for six grown men and a grown woman every day took more than a typical family of four would eat in a week. 

He began to set the toast onto a plate as it came out of the toaster, and he felt a pair of strong, thin arms wrap around his waist. A short head with damp hair pressed against his shoulder. He smiled, looking down at the long thin fingers painted with a soft coral nail polish that hugged just above his belly button. 

“Morning, Bevvy,” he said softly, breaking out of her hold and turning to give her a kiss. “How was your night?”

Bev lingered in the kiss, pleased with the scent of Ben’s toothpaste—though his morning breath was never very terrible unless he had a lot to drink the night before. Bev’s breath was sweet too. She brushed right when she woke up and after she got to work and finished her coffee. 

She hummed as she leaned into his warmth. She and Bill had been on a date the night before; they had gone to dinner at a nice restaurant and went to an artist showcase of a photographer they both liked at a small studio in Manhattan. They had gotten home after almost everyone had gone to bed, and slipped in under the covers with their lovers without waking anyone. 

“Oh it was very nice, Cindy Trinh actually was the speaker for the night as well, so Bill and I ended up staying for that. Her portraits were just gorgeous. It was a closer look at how Asian-Americans and Asian Immigrants are perceived in American society. It was really beautiful and raw, and I think Bill and I like her even more after hearing her speak.”

Richie padded into the kitchen. His eyes were cracked to only slivers, and his glasses were sitting askew on his ears. The morning sunlight shining in through the kitchen window showed the smudges that were ever-present on the lenses. Richie’s hair stuck up at odd angles; the man’s curls never behaved at night. He had on a large white undershirt, either Mike’s or Ben’s, and a pair of plaid sleep pants that were a little too short on him. His thin ankles and long bare toes snicked softly as he entered the kitchen rubbing his eyes and yawning.

“How do you have so many words before coffee?” Richie asked, walking over to the two for a sleepy hug. “Especially when you and Bill got home after me.”  
Ben kissed him softly on the lips, smiling when Richie growled and grabbed his ass. “Morning, Rich.”

“Morning, Hunk.” Richie turned and kissed Bev softly on the lips, careful not to smudge her make-up. “Morning, Pretty.”

“Good morning, Richie.” Bev said with a smile. Bev looked at him with bright fond eyes, delighting in his disheveled appearance. Richie always looked about ten years younger when he woke up in the morning, reminding her of their early years together.

Bev turned back to Ben to finish her conversation. “So the show was beautiful and the conversation was great, but we went to this Thai restaurant in the Flatiron District.” She shrugged and waved her hand in the air indicating that it was only so-so. 

“What didn’t you like about it?” Ben asked, buttering the toast the popped out of the toaster.

“It was just standard Thai fare, but really expensive. I’ve had better panang at a hole in the wall than they served last night.”

Ben gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry it wasn’t that good.”

“Ah, it’s fine. I just won’t ever take any of you there with me. But the rest of the date was really wonderful.”

Ben smiled, happy for his girlfriend that her date with their boyfriend had gone well. “I’m glad.”

Richie took a look at the coffee pot, and noticing it was done, he sighed in relief. He started to pour out the coffees for those he knew would need them. Four metal thermoses were sitting out on the counter, and three mugs sat in front of them. Richie poured first the coffee into the thermoses, knowing that they’d keep warm for longer before he began to doctor them up. 

Bev’s thermos was purple; he put two scoops of sugar in and gave it a stir. The crazy woman didn’t drink her coffee with cream. Ben’s was next, a blue thermos. Into it, Richie scooped one scoop of sugar and poured only enough milk to make it a chocolate color. No cream for Ben. Stan’s teal thermos was set up next; he took two scoops of sugar and two plops of cream to make a typical New York coffee. Richie only filled Eddie’s black thermos two-thirds full of coffee and filled the rest up with milk and sugar. 

Bev moved beside him and began to screw the tops on as Stan made his way into the kitchen. He wore one of his casual suits and a burgundy tie with a small polka-dot pattern. He stopped and smiled at Ben and leaned in for a kiss before he started helping Ben plate the food. The mountain of eggs went into the large dish they used every morning for eggs, and toast went onto a plate.

“Morning, Staniel.” Richie said, kissing Stan on the cheek as he walked passed him carrying his own mug of coffee. Stan hated when anyone kissed him without brushing their teeth in the morning, and Richie wasn’t about to wake himself up further only to go back to bed once everyone left.

“Good morning, Richard.” Stan said, walking over to collect his coffee mug for the morning. He kissed Beverly who was sipping on her own coffee now. “Morning, Beverly.”

“Good morning, Stan.” 

Mike walked in with a smile on his face. He was dressed in an open mustard shirt with a white graphic t-shirt under it and a pair of light wash jeans. He looked well-rested and happy. “Morning, loves.” Mike said, walking around the room greeting everyone with a warm hug and a soft kiss. 

“Morning, Mike,” everyone greeted with a smile. Mike grabbed a couple bowls of fruit from the fridge and put them on the table before sitting down next to Richie. Richie placed his head on Mike’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

Bev brought Mike his coffee, made just the way he liked it with a lot of sugar and very little almond milk. Mike beamed up at her and she leaned down to kiss him once more, a slight brush of her lips against his.

“Thank you, beautiful.”

“You’re welcome, Mikey.” Bev sat the almond milk down in front of him as well, and ran her fingers through Richie’s hair.

“How was your show last night, babe?” She asked, plucking Richie’s glasses off of his face to clean them.

He hummed and picked his head up off of Mike’s shoulder. “It was fine. I got heckled.”

“By Who?!” Bill asked, walking into the kitchen. He was wearing his green flannel shirt and a pair of well-worn jeans. He walked over to Mike and put his hands on his shoulder before leaning in for a hug from behind. Mike’s hands went to Bill’s wrists before he parted and walked around the room.

He squeezed Richie’s shoulder and kissed him on top of the head in his wild and messy hair. He pressed his cheek to Bev’s and air kissed her. He gave Ben a brief kiss on the lips as he was getting ready to sit down at the table, and he hugged Stan tightly who hugged him back and kissed him on the cheek. 

“Just some guy showing off for his girlfriend.” Richie said, taking his glasses back after Bev had wiped them down. “I got to the part where I was doing impressions and he shouted at me to do something current.” Richie lifted his hand and rolled his eyes.

“What did you do?” Ben asked, starting to serve himself breakfast and passing the eggs around the table.

“I told him to shut his fucking face.” Richie smirked, “In character of course.”

“The guy from that movie that came out not too long ago?” Bill asked, scooping eggs onto his plate and taking a slice of toast. “The one you really liked?”

“Real specific there, Billiam.” Richie said, accepting the eggs from Bill. “But yeah.”

Mike’s hand went to Richie’s back briefly before he took the platter of eggs. “Good for you, Richie.” 

“I don’t get why people do that,” Bev said, taking a drink of her coffee. “It’s so rude.”

Richie shrugged, “To show off? Drunk former frat bros always like to think they’re the funniest guy in the room. It usually doesn’t pan out well for them. One girl broke up with her boyfriend after a show because he decided to heckle.” 

“Good,” Ben said, around a bite of food. “He deserves it.”

Eddie came running into the kitchen, dressed handsomely in his blue suit, with his hair slicked back and freshly shaved. “Oh, good. I’m not that late. Sorry, I couldn’t get my hair to lay flat this morning.” 

“Good morning, Eddie,” Everyone around the table greeted. Eddie dropped into his seat beside Richie and Richie kissed him on the cheek.

Eddie wiped the dampness away with the back of his hand. “What did I miss?” He asked as he loaded up his plate with eggs and toast.

“Richie got heckled last night,” Mike supplied. 

“And Bev and Bill went on a date last night,” Ben added. “I want to hear what Bill thought of the date.”

“Wait, Richie got heckled?” Eddie asked, “Did you tell them to fuck off?”

Richie smiled and nodded, “Something like that.”

Eddie nodded, satisfied with the answer and ready to hear about Bill and Bev’s evening. “How was the date?” Eddie looked between Bill and Bev.

Bev indicated for Bill to answer first, “It was good! The artist was phenomenal; she had some really evocative portraits of Asian-Americans and Asian Immigrants working low-wage jobs, dispelling the myth of Model Minority. She also spoke at the end of the evening, which neither of us were expecting, so we got back later than we anticipated.”

“I felt you crawl into bed, but I was so tired I couldn’t open my eyes,” Eddie said, looking to Bev with a smile. “Didn’t you go out to eat, too? How was it?”

Bev frowned and shook her head, “We didn’t love it.” Bill nodded in agreement.

“Too expensive for what they served,” Bill said. Bev nodded, “and it wasn’t very amazing either.”

“That’s disappointing,” Stan said, wiping his hands on his napkin and folding it evenly once more. He took his last bite of eggs before taking a bite of his toast. After a couple of bites of toast, Stan wiped his face with his napkin making sure to wipe the corners of his mouth well.

“Bill is politely trying to say that it was the worst Thai food we’ve had in New York City. Do you remember that Chinese place in Derry? Jade of the Orient I think it was called, where the food was only halfway good, but you didn’t know any better so you thought it was great?” 

The men all nodded. Eddie had his fork halfway to his mouth, his mouth open in fear that he was going to hear something disgusting.

Bev nodded and took a drink of her coffee. “It’s like that but instead of getting a truck’s worth of pork fried rice for five bucks, you get a tiny portion of curry for forty.”

Eddie lowered his fork to his plate, “It was really that expensive?” 

For some, money was no matter, they could afford a luxury dinner out, but for others it took more planning. Ben, Bev, Mike and Bill, for instance were at a place in their careers where they could afford a $40 meal without looking at their bank account. Stan, Richie, and Eddie had to be more discerning and check bank statements before they went out for the night.

Finances had always been a touchy subject between all of them. Those who made money didn’t mind paying more, but those who didn’t had harbored a bit of resentment that the others payed for everything all of the time. In their late twenties, they came up with a system that worked for all of them. Stan, the accountant that he was, calculated that if everyone paid 28% of their income exactly into a shared bank account, all of the household needs would be met. 

Eddie, Richie, and Stan had to do a lot of growing up in the last ten years to make the arrangement work. At first there had been feelings of inadequacy that they couldn’t take everyone out and pay for everyone’s dinner the way that Ben and Bev could. There had been nights when they fought after they came home about how expensive something was and how it wasn’t fair for the others to have to pay all the time. There were hurt feelings that large gifts couldn’t be purchased the same way others could purchase them.

Many years and many conversations and many missed opportunities stilled the murky waters. Eddie, specifically, came around to the idea that none of it was charity, and none of it had to be paid back. At thirty-seven he was far more confident that when someone bought something for him it was because they wanted to buy it, not because they felt bad for him. For Eddie, love was always conditional, and money was part of that conditionality. It took time, and it took effort, but Eddie found a balance with his lovers that let him feel loved, and feel at least a little in control.

Bill turned to answer Eddie’s earlier question, “Yeah, but it’s very easy for us to say that we won’t be going back.”

“There’s better Thai restaurants in our neighborhood, we don’t need to go to Manhattan to eat good food.” Bev answered.

Eddie nodded, then he glanced down at his watch. “We should get going soon.” Stan, Ben, Bev and Mike also looked down at their watches. 

Stan took his last bite of toast and stood to put his dish in the sink. Richie and Bill were the ones who usually took care of morning dishes after everyone had left for the day. He straightened his suit and his tie, making sure there were no crumbs before quickly walking back upstairs to brush his teeth once more.

Richie stood and walked to the powder room off of the kitchen to quickly brush his teeth after breakfast. Eddie crowded in behind him to piss before he got in the car for the day. 

“Can you finish so I can flush?” Eddie asked. It was a conversation they had every day. 

“Just flush.” Richie said, his mouth full of toothpaste. 

“Do you want E. coli? Because I’m pretty sure that’s how you get E. coli.”

Richie spat into the sink and rinsed his mouth out. “That’s not how you get E. coli.,” Richie said. 

He rinsed his toothbrush and stuck it inside the medicine cabinet where Eddie and Stan had demanded the toothbrushes go in the downstairs bathroom.

“How do you think you get E. coli. then?” 

“Shoving punk’s heads into toilets,” Richie moved like he was going to shove Eddie’s head into the toilet, but he stopped at the glare Eddie sent his way. “Only joking.” He leaned forward and kissed Eddie before turning quickly and running out of the bathroom.

“Gross, Richie! Don’t kiss me in the bathroom!” Richie giggled as he came back into the kitchen and watched as everyone was getting ready to leave. He sighed as Bev topped off her, Eddie and Stan’s thermos of coffee. Ben’s hadn’t been touched yet.

Ben rolled a lint roller over himself and passed it to Eddie as he came out of the bathroom. Eddie ran it over his front, making sure there weren’t any crumbs on his tie, and handed it over to Bev. Bev’s blouse was pretty clean, but she made sure her skirt was as well. Stan came back downstairs and grabbed the lint roller from Bev. 

Richie hugged Ben and tucked himself in under his arm. “Some day, I’m just going to make you all play hooky and stay home with me and Bill.” 

Ben kissed him gently on the lips. “At least we get to see Bill for most dinners. Some day, it’ll be easier. You’re working tonight, right?”

Richie nodded, “Yeah, I’ll be home around eleven-thirty-ish.” 

Bev pouted and pulled him into a hug. “Some day, I’m going to take you up on playing hooky.” At great risk of smudging her make-up, Bev kissed him on the lips, pouring her love in to the kiss. “I love you, Rich.” 

“I love you too, Bevvy.”

Eddie kissed him next, and patted him on the cheek. “I’ll wait up for you. See you tonight, stud.”

The three pulled apart to hug and kiss their other lovers goodbye. Mike and Ben chatted for a minute about a game that was going to be on that night that they planned to watch together, and Bev kissed Bill on the cheek. “I love you boys, see you tonight.”

While everyone was packing up and getting their shoes on, Stan wrapped his arms tight around Richie’s shoulders. “This Friday, you and me, date night.” 

“Why, Staniel. You’re askin’ little ol’ me on a date?” 

Stan leaned in and kissed him hard. Richie could feel the kiss travel from his lips to his toes. Stan’s mouth was good, clean, and it was absolutely for this reason that Richie brushed his teeth after breakfast. “Yes, I miss you.”

“I miss you too, but I have to work Friday…” Richie didn’t ever regret doing a job that he loved, and to be working full time as a weeknight comedian was actually a big deal in a city like New York, but in this moment Richie hated that he didn’t have a typical nine-to-five like his partners. 

“I know. I’m going to come watch your show and heckle the hecklers, and then you and me will go out after you’re done.”

A smile softened Richie’s face. “I’d like that.” Richie sighed. “I’d like that a lot.”

“Good. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Richie and Stan walked to the door together with all of the others. Saying goodbye in the morning was a lot like a Midwestern goodbye in the Losers Club household. Everyone tried to kiss everyone they hadn’t already kissed as those who were leaving were trying to put their shoes on. Everyone was calling out to someone else something that needed to be remembered for the day, and requests to call once they heard about something or other from whatever partner they needed to hear from that day. It was messy, but it was them. It was the best life they could have asked for. 

Ben and Bev stepped out of the house first, holding hands in between and holding their coffee mugs on opposite sides. Eddie and Stan were out on the stoop next. The two men kissed and separated to different cars, and Ben walked Bev over to the passenger side of Eddie’s car. Eddie had backed in the night before, so the walk to drop Bev was closer than the walk to his truck.

After he opened the car door for her, he kissed her and told her to have a good day. He walked around the front and leaned in to kiss Eddie before opening the driver’s side door of his old yellow pick up. Eddie and Bev waved to Stan and Ben before Eddie pulled out of the driveway. Stan and Ben waved back.

“Ready to go, Stan the Man?” Ben asked, throwing the GPS app Waze up on his phone.

“Let’s go sit in traffic for four hours, Ben Handsome.”

Richie had been calling Ben the nickname for years, but it hadn’t really caught on until a journalist was speaking to Ben on a morning news show one day a couple years ago. In her introduction of Ben, she misspoke his name and called him Ben Handsome instead of Ben Hanscom and overnight Ben Handsome became New York City’s most popular architecture firm’s President and CEO. 

As Ben turned down the street that lead to the overpass, Stan sat quietly sipping his coffee in the passenger seat. They pulled up behind a large black SUV and Stan looked at it shook his head, “What’s this idiot doing?”

Ben looked at Stan inquisitively. “What do you mean?”

“This idiot. Driving like a maniac. You should honk at him.” Stan had a small smile about his lips.

“Stan—that’s Eddie.” 

“Clearly. Such an idiot. You should drive up beside him and honk.” Ben couldn’t figure out what Stan was on about, but the light to go straight changed before the light to turn did, and Ben drove up beside Eddie. He honked, and Stan leaned over him and blew kisses out the window to Bev and Eddie.

Ben could see the two laugh in their car, and he couldn’t help but laugh himself. “In your seat, Romeo.”

Stan chuckled and sat back in his seat, adjusting his seatbelt and smiling. Ben smiled, too.

Bev pulled down the mirror on the passenger side of Eddie’s company car. She pulled out her lipstick and began reapplying it so that she looked professional when she got out of the car to walk into her building. Her hair was up in a bun, ready to look the part of CEO of Beverly Marsh. Most of the other fashion designers of her caliber were men, and as much as fashion was considered a woman’s pursuit, it was definitely a man’s world, and Bev had to compete. 

Eddie watched her with a smile on his face. He could easily say, hands down, that she was the most beautiful woman Eddie knew. Bev felt his eyes on her and she turned to him with a smile.

Bev knew that Eddie loved her; she’d always known. She also knew that she was the only woman Eddie would ever love, and the only woman he had ever made love to in his life. Bev reached over and patted his cheek, rubbing gently around his ear with lovely, elegant hands. 

“Are you picking anyone special up today?” She asked. Eddie’s client base was largely minor celebrities in New York City and those coming in from the airport. While he had a small lot where he kept different vehicles and drivers who worked for him could come to pick the cars up, Eddie was on the road most of the day doing high-profile pick-ups and drop-offs. 

“Besides you?” Eddie asked with a smile. Bev smiled back and squeezed his hand. “Lorne Michaels is getting picked up from the airport to go to 30 Rock. Don’t tell Richie though, he’d be so jealous.” 

“Lorne Michaels?!” Bev asked with excitement. “That’s really exciting. You will have to tell Richie at some point though, you know how much he wants to be on Saturday Night Live.”

Eddie gave Bev a secret smile. Bev noticed it right away and turned to face Eddie, her mouth dropping open. “Are you going to say something to Lorne Michaels about Richie?”

Eddie put one hand up, making sure the other was still on the wheel. “If I can. That’s why I said to not say anything to Richie, because I might not be able to say anything at all.”

“You sneaky, sneaky bitch.”

They made their way down Fifth Avenue, looking at all the shop fronts as they passed by in Eddie’s luxury SUV. Passing Trump Tower, without saying a word, both Eddie and Bev lifted their middle fingers in protest. With a relationship like theirs, it was clear that the Losers Club were proud losers and detested Trump and everything the tyrant stood for. 

Eddie and Bev locked eyes and gave a little smile at their shared moment of rebellion. It wasn’t long before Eddie pulled up at Bev’s office. Her company purchased the building several years ago when they first made it big, and every day since she walked in pleased as punch that her business was doing well, and that under her leadership they were able to hire several hundred employees. Even better, her flagship store was here underneath her office building. Bev truly felt like the consummate professional.

They wouldn’t linger here in the car long; Bev needed to get up to her office, and Eddie needed to get on the road to pick up his first client. Cars behind them were starting to honk and encourage Eddie to move his car. 

Eddie leaned over and kissed Bev before she opened the door and got out of the SUV. She turned and blew him another kiss. 

“I love you,” The said at the same time with matching smiles.

Eddie waited as she closed the door and walked into her building. Bev always walked with such grace and confidence, almost as if she herself were walking on the catwalk. He couldn’t help but watch her hips as she entered the building. She turned and waved to Eddie once more, as was their tradition, and Eddie waved back. The doorman who opened the door for Bev waved too, and Eddie nodded at him before putting his car in drive, off to grab his first client of the day.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has explicit sex and the use of a derogatory word aimed at a woman to shame her for having sex. Please be mindful if these are sensitive topics for you. 
> 
> My writing schedule has been disrupted for the past couple weeks because of the civil unrest felt in America. Right now, it's especially important for us to give space for those who have been historically victimized by a system founded on white supremacy, and right now it's especially important for those of us who are white to listen instead of speak. I share with you this part of the story as a small respite from the emotional toll we all are feeling, though it will never soothe the heartache the black and brown community have been feeling for centuries. 
> 
> Please know that as an individual, I support Black Lives Matter with my whole heart and strive to do anti-racist work in my career and in myself. If you are struggling with understanding racism, especially systemic racism, and why people are protesting please feel free to reach out to me on my tumblr (jessiohhh.tumblr.com) and I will help guide you toward resources that can help. If you are a person of color, please know that you are supported, you are loved, and you are worth fighting for. I will do my best to fight for you and with you, and will do my best to call out racism in this fandom where I see it. 
> 
> #BlackLivesMatter  
> #GeorgeFloyd  
> #BreonnaTaylor  
> #AhmaudArbery   
> #SayTheirNames
> 
> (I recognize I only tagged a few individuals who have been killed because of white supremacy. There are unfortunately too many whose names we know and even more whose names we do not know. I ask you all to take a few minutes and think of all of them as you read this message.)

Chapter Two:

It didn’t take long for Richie, Bill, and Mike to clean up the kitchen and put away the dishes. The three made a fairly decent team when it came to breakfast clean up, and the fact that they had a dishwasher that could handle a family of seven made it all the better.

Mike usually left a little later than the others; he didn’t need to be in his office until after nine, and he liked to linger around the house with Bill and Richie when it was just the three of them and it was just a little quieter. Richie was always highly affectionate in the mornings, tucking in under Mike’s arm as he sipped his coffee and yawned. Mike would pepper little kisses over the crown of his head and let Richie cuddle as long as he wanted.

Eventually, though, Mike had to leave. He always left with a long slow kiss with Richie, and the same with Bill. Bill would always ask if Mike wanted a ride, and Mike often said no. He liked riding the train into the city; it gave him time to read and to listen to his music. It gave him time to daydream about his lovers and the plans they made for the evening. The time on the train really was Mike’s time to be on his own, and he particularly loved it.

He kissed Richie once, and Richie pulled him back in for another kiss. The comedian was yearning for more time with his lovers. More time with his best friends. He couldn’t wait until the time came that he had a more typical work/life balance, and could spend more quality time with his partners. 

“I love you.” Mike whispered to him, feeling that the man needed just a little more love this morning than a typical morning. Richie leaned in, touching his forehead to Mike’s and absorbing the man’s warmth one more time. 

“I love you,” Richie whispered back. 

Mike pulled away, kissed Bill and watched as Richie moved over to Bill and attached himself at the hip to the shorter man. Mike smiled as he slipped on his shoes, put his earbuds into his ears and said goodbye once more.

Once the door shut, Bill and Richie started upstairs. Bill to get a head start on work, and Richie to fall back asleep. While coffee woke the others up, a warm cup of coffee always helped Richie to fall back to sleep. 

“Can I come sleep in your room while you write?” Richie asked. He stood outside the landing to Bill’s room, his bare feet curling into the cold tile of the stairway.

“Yeah, of course.” Bill said, opening the door for both of them. Richie jumped onto Bill’s bed, and pulled the covers down just a bit so he could slip under them. 

The blinds for Bill’s window were open, but the morning light didn’t shine directly into the room. Bill sat down at his desk and opened up his laptop. “Will the light bother you?”

Richie shook his head. His glasses pushed up further on his face, sitting askew over his nose. 

“What are you writing this morning?”

“Well, I’m finalizing my itinerary for the book tour next week, and then I’ll write whatever comes to mind for a bit. I don’t really have a book I’m working on just yet, but it’s all about practice, isn’t it?”

Bill’s speech was fluid, and Richie wished there was just a little bit of his stutter there this morning. When Bill was calm, his stutter was nearly gone. He might trip up on a word or two, but when he could spend the morning like this, his brain was calm and his speech was fluid. It wasn’t that Richie wanted Bill to feel nervous, but so much of their life together had been spent with that ever-present stutter, and when Richie thought of home he often thought of laying in bed with Bill, his stutter tumbling over his lips as they talked about comic books and super heroes or Star Wars and Harry Potter. 

“I’m gonna miss you.” Richie said, tucking his chin into Bill’s sheets. The sheets smelled fresh, not like Bill at all. To be fair, Bill rarely slept in this bed, he almost always was upstairs in the big bed. It wasn’t very often that any of them really wanted their own space, but for some of them they did need to be on their own every once in a while. 

Richie and Bev were the true extroverts of the relationship. Stan and Ben were true introverts, and Mike, Bill, and Eddie were somewhere in the middle. Most of the time Richie and Bev could be found where someone else was, but the others took time to themselves more often.

Richie wasn’t exactly looking forward to Bill’s book tour. It was true that he wasn’t going to be gone very long, and he’d be back for a couple days every week, but in the hours between the others leaving for work and Richie leaving for work, he’d be on his own. 

Bill sat back in his chair and looked at Richie sleepily curled up in his bed. The comforter was a blue plaid that looked right for Bill’s room, but all wrong on Richie. Bill leaned forward and pulled Richie’s glasses from his face with one hand. With the other he opened up the blanket and motioned for Richie to scoot back closer to the wall. 

As Richie scooted back, Bill stood and peeled off his jeans and plaid shirt. Richie wolf whistled and Bill shushed him with a slight blush building on his cheeks. Bill climbed in and wrapped himself up in Richie, the two grown men laying nose to nose like they had done many times as teenagers.

“You know I’m gonna miss you, too,” Bill said. It wasn’t a question or a statement, but a little of both. He knew that Richie knew he was going to be missed, but he also wanted to be certain that Richie knew it as well.

Richie nodded. Bill could hear the other man’s stubble scratch against the bedsheets. “I’ll be getting up in the morning, and grabbing coffee from one of those little hotel coffee machines that only make bad coffee, and I’ll be thinking of how you make it when I’m downstairs early enough and it just won’t taste right at all.” Bill grazed Richie’s nose with his own. Richie couldn’t help but huff out a little laugh.

“And I’ll be getting up in front of people to do a reading, and I’ll look to the front row and you won’t be there. And I’m sure I’m going to feel nervous and wish my Richie was there to cheer me on.” Bill’s hand went to Richie’s cheek. “You know you’re the loudest? Every time, whenever I get up on stage, it’s always you I can hear over everyone else, and it’s always you cheering that gives me the courage to get up there and read, even if my stutter comes back.”

“Well, I’m just going to have to cheer from Brooklyn then, whenever you’re about to get on stage, wherever you are. I’ll make sure you hear me from here.”

“This is why you’re the best.” Bill said, leaning in to kiss Richie softly.

It was a short kiss, not much more than a brush of lips against lips, but Richie opened his big brown eyes and looked deeply into Bill’s beautiful blue. With the sun coming through the window just a little bit, Richie could see the slight patch of gray hair that lightened the front swoop of Bill’s hair, and the small lines around Bill’s eyes. Richie’s thumb brushed over those lines, remembering each laugh that they shared together, and each laugh the others shared with Bill over the years. He remembered when the hair had been a rich, warm brown, and though both men were getting older, Richie loved Bill at every moment of their lives together. 

“Can’t I just keep you forever?” Richie said, in a soft pleading voice.

“I’m yours, as long as you’ll have me.” Bill said, his voice deep and soothing. “I’ve been yours since we were kids and I’ll be yours long after we’re gone.”

Just as Richie thought he couldn’t love Bill any deeper than he already did, his heart swelled with more love for the man in front of him. 

Neither Bill nor Richie, and to be frank nor were any of the others, really out to people they knew, but in casual conversation about polyamory in the queer community people always wondered how one person could love so many others. In reality, though, love is infinite. If you treated love as if there was always an infinite supply, there always would more love to give and more love to be felt. Inside Bill and Richie lived a boundless supply of love; a full river that rushed through them drenching every memory of the others with a deep, endless love. 

If this were a movie, the moment Richie and Bill’s lips connected would be overdubbed with “My Endless Love” as sung by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross. It would be cheesy and romantic as fuck, because as much of an asshole that Richie could be, he was also such a romantic cornball. 

“I get to be Diana Ross.” Richie said when they broke apart.

“What?” Bill asked, confused and disoriented from the kiss. 

“Never mind.” Richie said, realizing he had spoken aloud. Richie threaded his fingers in Bill’s hair and pulled him close again. Their legs twined together, hipbones connected and Bill growled low in his throat as Richie’s tongue filled his mouth. Much like their teenage years, their groins hardened in moments, the two men as eager to prove their love as they had been in their late teens. 

With morning schedules light, Bill and Richie had the time to explore each other as much as they wished. 

They both wished. 

Bill turned Richie over to his back and straddled his hips. Their groins connected with intense friction underneath their clothing. Bill leaned forward to kiss Richie as his hips rolled into the other man’s. Richie whined, and pulled Bill’s hips harder into his own. 

“Please, Bill.” Richie said, his voice breathy and full of need. He begged again, “Please.”

“Wuh-what do you need, Richie?” Bill’s voice was deep, his eyes intently looking at Richie’s face.

Richie’s hands played at Bill’s hips, fingering the brief band around his waist. “You. I need you. Show me you love me… please.” 

Bill leaned back and pulled Richie up to meet him. Bill’s hands quickly went under Richie’s shirt and pushed the loose material up and over his head. He threw the much-too-large-for-Richie shirt on the hardwood floor of his bedroom to be picked up and thrown in the laundry later. Bill’s hands then reached over his head and over to his back. He was able to pull the shirt off over his head with a single hand, and in a single pull.

“That’s so sexy.” Richie said, watching Bill disrobe in a fluid motion.

“You’re s-sexy.” Bill said, pushing Richie back onto the bed. Bill’s fingers pushed up Richie’s chest, his silky chest hair sliding between his fingers. 

Both Bill and Richie had a full chest of hair. Richie’s hair was thicker and darker, as was the hair on the rest of his body, but somehow that made the man all the sexier in Bill’s eyes. It seemed like yesterday when the two were going through their lean and lanky phase, but as they grew and matured they couldn’t help but love how attractive they had become over the years. Full, stocky bodies, shoulder hair and all. 

Richie moaned, arching up into Bill’s hands. Bill leaned forward, sucking a kiss into Richie’s neck. They tried not to leave marks and bruises very often, but sometimes they all truly wanted it. Richie could usually hide the ones around his neck with stage makeup and high-collared shirts. 

He rolled his hips up and Bill could feel Richie’s long, hard length under him. He pulled himself off of Richie quickly to shed his briefs, and Richie scrambled to push his sleep pants and underwear off of himself. Even as an adult, his legs were still long and gangly, though the thighs were thicker now than they had been in his teenage years.

Bill reached over to his desk and grabbed the lube he kept there. Without waiting for the bottle of lube to warm between them, Bill squirted some into his hand and coated his cock with the slippery substance. He left plenty on his fingers to open Richie up as well.

Knowing his lover as well as he did, Bill didn’t even have to ask how he wanted it this morning. When Richie got into these moods where he needed his lovers, Richie only wanted to make love face to face. It wasn’t that Richie didn’t like fucking and being fucked on all fours, but when he needed to feel loved, he needed to see his partner’s face.

Bill looked at his lover. The sheets had been kicked to the bottom of the bed, and Richie laid at the top of the bed, his hand between his legs, watching Bill with his eyes softly unfocused. His knees dropped open to the sides, and his hand languidly stroked his dick, giving himself friction while he waited for Bill to prepare himself.

They didn’t use condoms any more. After about ten years together, the seven of them had a conversation about it; condoms or not, and what were the boundaries. Bev agreed that she would use birth control, and all of them agreed that they’d be tested once a year at their physical for anything that came up. They agreed that they’d use condoms with any other partner, but none of them had slept with anyone outside of their group in years, and none of them really wanted to anyway.

Richie’s hand stroked slowly, up and down, and Bill climbed over him. Richie’s legs were long, but his thighs were thick, giving Bill a perfect place to grip Richie as he thrust his cock into him time and time again. 

Neither of them were much for talking while they fucked. It was surprising because Richie’s mouth ran at all hours of the day and night. The man was even prone to waking the others up with a conversation he was having in his sleep. When all of his blood went south, however, his motor mouth stopped running. 

Bill, on the other hand, had always been quiet during sex; he felt there was nothing less sexy than a lover attempting to seduce you with a stutter. Once Bill became turned on the stutter nearly always returned because his brain was so focused on other things.

“Talk to me, Bill.” Richie asked. He reached between his legs and pulled Bill closer. Bill connected their hips for the first time since they disrobed.

“Wh-what do you want mm-me to say?” 

“Anything. Tell me what you want to do to me.” Richie looked up at him with burning eyes.

“I wuh-want to fuck your tih-tight little ass.” Bill reached his slippery fingers down between Richie’s legs and began to massage the tight ring there. Richie moaned as Bill slipped a finger inside him.

“I want you, Bill. Fill me up.” 

Richie pulled Bill down into a frantic kiss. Bill slipped a second finger into Richie, and curled them in a ‘come hither’ motion. The taller man keened into the kiss, feeling intense pleasure already. This wouldn’t last long. 

Long legs wrapped around Bill’s hips, lifting Richie’s hips just slightly and putting pressure on both men’s cocks. 

“I’m guh-gunna have to lift your leh-leg up over my shoulder.” Bill said, his hand gripping at Richie’s thigh. His fingers dragged up toward Richie’s knee, bringing warm sensation to one of Richie’s most ticklish places.

The dark haired man reached behind him to grab the second pillow from the bed. He handed it to Bill to tuck under his hips. Bill did, and the two managed to lift Richie’s legs up over Bill’s shoulders. 

For two men in their mid-to-late thirties, they both were incredibly flexible. They would credit their more healthy partners for encouraging them to stretch, but really it was just all the sex they had that kept them this limber. 

Bill quickly dragged his fingers from Richie’s ass and stroked his cock once more before lining himself up with Richie’s hole. He wasn’t perfectly stretched, but Richie never quite minded the burn that came from a quick, unplanned fuck. 

Though he couldn’t see much, Richie could tell that Bill was looking at him, waiting for the green light to go. Richie smiled at him and nodded, he was ready. Bill pushed himself into Richie, both men groaning at the sensation. Richie felt like he was being pulled apart from the inside, and Bill felt the other man’s vice grip around his dick. 

“Ah, fuck.” Bill groaned. Richie whimpered slightly, and let out a quick huff of air. “Are you oh-okay?” 

Richie nodded quickly, but took another deep breath. “Stay there a minute?” he asked. His voice was tight, pain slipping out on his voice as he fought to adjust to Bill’s girth.

Bill tucked his arm around Richie’s thigh to brush his cheek. “Look at me, Rich.”

Richie opened his big brown eyes and looked as closely as he could at Bill. “You’re okay.” Richie nodded, taking another deep breath and letting it go slowly. Bill sunk in a little deeper and leaned forward to kiss Richie on the mouth. Richie moaned into the kiss.

Their lips slotted together, soft and slippery, a contrast to the stubble both men sported that rasped like rug burn against their cheeks. Richie loved it. He loved how at the end of the day as he stood up on that stage, he’d still feel the burn of Bill’s beard against his face, and the burn of his cock in his ass. He’d love that it was his secret that he had been fucked by one of his lovers earlier in the day and no one would be the wiser. 

Richie moaned, thinking of all that he felt now, and the pride he’d feel later in the afternoon as he made his way to work. Bill Denbrough fucked me this morning, he’d think. Bill Denbrough made me cum. My Bill Denbrough. 

Slowly, Bill pulled himself out of Richie, the emptiness in Richie’s ass was a stark difference to having Bill’s thick cock pushed all the way inside him. Richie reached down and pulled Bill closer again. “More.”

Bill moaned, and began fucking Richie in earnest. Richie cried out, high and keening, as Bill worked himself into his lover. “Oh fuck, Bill.”

“Richie,” Bill said, his voice an octave deeper than it had been before. “Fuh-fuck.”

The two rocked together. Hips crashing and colliding, wet slaps of skin each time their bodies met. Bill angled his hips just a little more to keep Richie crying out in high pitched puffs. “Oh fuck, oh fuck.” Bill knew he was hitting Richie’s prostate with each thrust. 

Richie wrapped his arms around Bill’s neck, pulling him in closer. Bill began sucking at that spot on Richie’s neck that always made him come undone. Right at the spot where the collar bone and neck met, Bill sucked a bright red spot.

He didn’t have to say anything when he started to come. Bill could see it in the way his eyes shut tight, involuntarily, and his thighs flexed under his hands. Bill was close too, but not quite there yet. Richie grabbed for Bill’s hands, gripping as spurt after spurt of cum came shooting out of his dick and onto his stomach and chest. 

A tear leaked out of the corner of Richie’s eye, and he wiped it away with a hurry. Bill pulled out of him and stroked himself, Richie’s legs settling once again at his hips. Richie wrapped his hand around Bill’s and the two men stroked together. Bill came on Richie’s stomach, right where Richie’s stomach hair pointed the way to Richie’s cock. It was hot and sticky, Richie could feel where it warmed his skin. 

Bill collapsed beside him, sharing the pillow with Richie’s sweaty head. The two men could smell each other’s scent; musky and familiar and like home. Bill placed his hand on Richie’s cheek and guided his face over. Slowly they kissed, getting lost in each others lips once again.

His thumb brushed against the underside of Richie’s eye, picking up a bit of moisture there. “What’s wrong, Richie?” Bill asked, his voice incredibly soft, knowing he needed to treat his boyfriend gently at this time.

“I just love you so much.” Richie said, completely open and vulnerable with his best friend and lover. He looked at Bill with deep intent. His heart was raw and open, but slowly, Richie started to shutter it back up. Bill ached to see the walls slide up that hid Richie’s vulnerability from the rest of the world. 

“Fuck, I sound like such a homo.” Richie said with a crooked smile, wiping away the tears with the back of his hand, “But it’s true. I’ll probably make this into a joke later about how I got fucked so good I cried.”

Richie almost always masked his feelings with a joke. Even around his lovers he had a hard time being completely honest about his feelings. It was early in the morning and right after sex that Richie was the most open. Bill got to see this side of Richie the most, and the others got to see it Sunday mornings when everyone woke up slow and horny. 

“I love you, too, Richie.” Bill said slowly, to make sure he didn’t stutter over the most important sentence in his life. “And I’m gonna muh-miss you too.” He placed a soft kiss on Richie’s shoulder. “I’ll call you every morning when I wake up, after everyone goes to work.” 

“Can we have phone sex?” Richie asked in a soft, slightly begging voice.

“We can have video sex if you want.” 

Richie grinned and nodded, pulling Bill into another deep kiss. They lay together like that, kissing and talking until the cum started cooling on Richie’s stomach, and Richie’s eyes were drifting closed.

Richie woke to a warm cloth cleaning his stomach. Bill, still naked, shushed him and told him to go back to sleep with a soft kiss. He pulled the blankets up over Richie’s shoulders, and Richie fell asleep again to the soft sounds of Bill working beside him.

It was nearly lunch time before Bev sat down at her desk. An intern had brought her a coffee from the Starbucks a block over, and she was starting to go through her mail. A good majority of it was internal; spreads for publications that would be run within magazines like Vanity Fair and Glamour, memos about meetings around finances and manufacturing, communication about hiring and firing that Bev had always told her team she trusted their opinion about. The other portion was often more personal mail, like letters from young people who told her that they aspired to be like her when they grew up, and models asking for an opportunity to work for her team (she always passed those along to the outgoing mailbox). 

Bev paused, though, when she came to a large yellow envelope. The handwriting on the envelope was spidery, with ink blots where it seemed the writer paused the pen as they were writing. There was no return address and it hadn’t been processed through the USPS, as there were no stamps. This had come internally.

A certain sense of dread crept up Bev’s spine. The writing seemed familiar, but she couldn’t place it. Her mind conjured images of an old woman sitting with a tea cup and a frozen smile, but that wasn’t quite right. She shook her head and turned the envelope over. 

The silver clasp held the envelope closed, but it had also been licked shut as well. Bev pulled out her letter opener and sliced through the top of the envelope, not even bothering with undoing it where it had been sealed.

She held her breath, not sure she wanted to see what was going to be in the envelope at all. Images flashed through her mind of what could be in the envelope; too many horror stories informed her that anything could be in there, like ground up bones or a gallon of blood.

Admittedly, Bev could tell neither of those things were in the envelope, but the fear in the pit of her stomach wanted her to believe that’s what she’d find when she poured out the contents.

With a deep, apprehensive breath, Bev dumped the contents of the envelope onto her desk. Three sheets of photography paper slid out. They landed face down on her desk and all she could see was the label of the producer of the paper: Kodak. It was a brand Bev was familiar with; when Mike printed out pictures of the seven of them at Duane Reade the pictures almost always came on Kodak paper. 

Bev flipped one of the pictures over. It was a grainy, black and white shot. It was on a dark, drizzly night in early Spring. Bev could see in the dark photo that the trees were barely starting to bud, and flower petals littered the ground at the feet of the two people standing under a street light.

She recognized the location immediately. Central Park. Near Columbia University. She knew, almost without looking who the two in the center of the picture would be; her and Mike. She had gone up to Columbia that evening to meet Mike at his office and they walked around Central Park for a cheap, fun date. It had been a perfect evening for the two of them, and Eddie had picked them up on his way home.

In the picture, she and Mike were kissing. It was a relatively chaste kiss; in public, Mike was alway proper with her and with the others. He had told her once that he worried what a NYPD cop would think of him, a 6’4” black man, with a 5’4” white woman, and adding on top of that he worried what that same cop would think if he knew he were also with men. It wasn’t something that they talked about a lot, but Bev knew it was something that was always in the back of his mind.

They had been together like they were this picture so many times. They either waited for Eddie to finish up work and catch a ride with him or Bev rode home with Mike on the subway. She wondered what the other images would show.

Quickly she turned them over. They were similar images, but different times and different people. The one constant was her. The second picture was a picture of her and Bill, taken last night. She recognized the dress as the one she had worn the day before, and Bill had his hand wrapped around her waist.

The third picture was from that morning. The picture was taken from outside Eddie’s car. It was a straight shot into the front windshield. Bev was leaning over and kissing Eddie. She looked at her outfit in the picture and then looked down at the outfit she was wearing. She knew it was the same. She didn’t really have to look, but she had hoped that it wasn’t true, that what she knew wasn’t true. She knew in that moment that someone was following her.

Her hands shook as she picked up the envelope again. When she turned it over, a final slip of paper slid out from inside. She put down the envelope once more and picked up the slip of paper. It was small, only about a third of a typical sheet of paper, and one edge was ripped. On it, only one word was written in that same shaky, spidery lettering.

[picture of handwriting that says "slut"]

Bev sat down heavily at her desk. She placed her shaky hand over her mouth, feeling waves of fear and unease turn her stomach. What was she going to do? Someone was following her, following her when she was with her lovers. 

Her assistant came in and looked Beverly over. While Bev was normally pale, all normal color had drained from her face. Her eyes stared unblinkingly at the wall in front of her desk. The young woman put her papers down on the table near the door and she stepped in. 

“Ms. Marsh?” Bev turned glassy eyes to the woman. “Are you okay?”

Bev nodded, paused and then immediately shook her head. She gathered up the photographs before her assistant could see them and returned them to the envelope and slid them into her desk drawer. 

“You don’t look like you feel very well. Would you like me to cancel your appointments for the afternoon and call Mr. Kaspbrak to come pick you up?” Her coworkers all knew about Eddie, since he was the one who dropped her off the most frequently. None of them understood the relationship; she was one of the most well-known up and comers in the fashion industry and he was a luxury cab driver. They didn’t question it, but they didn’t understand it when she could be with anyone. Truly.

Bev nodded, and then shook her head again. “Yes, Andrea. Please cancel my meetings for the rest of the day, but please don’t call Eddie. He has an important client this afternoon and I don’t want him to lose that opportunity. If you would call me a cab, though, I’d appreciate that.”

“Of course, Ms. Marsh.” Andrea turned and picked up her stack of papers before opening the door to the office. Andrea admired Bev’s compassion to her boyfriend. No, he wasn’t famous like she was, and no, he didn’t seem to be making a lot of money, but Bev seemed to care so much about the work he did and made sure that his work was respected in a way that made Andrea respect her even more.

“Oh, Andrea.” Bev called, “If anyone asks why I went home early, tell them it’s none of their business.”

Andrea smiled and nodded, and left to take care of calling Bev a car. Beverly grabbed her things and made her way down to the lobby of her building. It wasn’t long before one of Eddie’s employees was there at the door waiting for her. She was grateful that Andrea had called Eddie’s dispatch for a car that came quickly for her.

“Hi, Ms. Marsh.” Antonio, a young Italian man who Eddie had hired several months back, said as he opened the door for Beverly. When Bev’s assistant called Eddie’s company, it was often Antonio who came to pick her up. “Are we headed home, or somewhere else in the city?”

“Good afternoon, Antonio. Home, if you would, please.” Bev had her sunglasses on and she pulled her hair down from it’s bun as soon as she was seated in the car. A headache was threatening to overtake her, now that the nausea was gone.

“We’ll make it quick. Traffic shouldn’t be too bad at this hour.” The young man said, putting the car in gear. 

Antonio tried to make a couple comments, but realized quickly that Bev wasn’t feeling well. He drove quietly, without comment until they pulled up to Bev’s home. “Here we are, Ms. Marsh.” Antonio said, opening the door and letting her out of the car.

“Thank you, Antonio.” Bev said, handing the young man a small cash tip. He tried to refuse it, but Bev insisted. 

“Thank you, Ms. Marsh.” Bev walked up to the front doorstep and was slightly surprised when Richie opened it. 

His eyes were wide with surprise because he didn’t expect her to be on the other side of the stoop either. “Hey, Bev!” He greeted. “Is that Antonio?”

Bev nodded. Richie kissed her on the cheek and waived to Antonio to wait a second. He was going to see if he could get a ride back into the city if the man was going that direction. “I gotta run, but are you okay, Bevvy? You’re not usually home this early.”

Bev put on a fake smile that Richie could see through right away. “I’m fine, Richie. Head to work. I’ll see you tonight.” 

He didn’t have time to investigate what was wrong; he had to be at Dangerfield’s in the hour to begin preparations for tonight’s show. With the hickie that was really starting to show, it would take him a bit more time to get his makeup on and get set up for the night than it usually took. 

He nodded and kissed her on the cheek once more, before bounding out the door towards Antonio’s car. 

[Text Message: something’s wrong with bev. she just came home when i was leaving. can someone check in on her?]


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie picks up Lorne Michaels from the airport, and has an important conversation with Bill. Bev wakes up from a nap and interrupts Mike and Ben's date. 
> 
> Chapter Warnings: Mentions of previous miscarriage and health concerns.

Chapter Three:

Eddie stood at the airport receiving area with a sign in his hand. He was standing with other valets each who held their own signs. One, Eddie had familiarity with, stood near the other man and the two men were talking quietly about their lives and families. Eddie was constantly careful to not say too much about his partners, though François knew that he lived with six of his best friends in Brooklyn.

“How’s your daughter doing?” Eddie asked. “She had surgery not too long ago, right?” Eddie rocked slightly on his feet, his shiny black shoes reflecting the overhead lights of the terminal.

Eddie had gotten to know François over the last several years standing here at the airport. High profile clients came in day and night, but somehow Eddie and François had frequently been at the same pick up time from their two respective companies. Flights came in from LAX to JFK regularly, and actors and actresses, network executives, and swanky business people came in all at the same time needing a ride to places within New York. Eddie had once offered François a job, because the man was just so polite and humble, but the man was deeply dedicated to the company he worked for already.

While Eddie spent a lot of time at his little office helping Anita, his office manager, with dispatch, he was the person who went out on calls for those said swanky folks. This morning he picked up a Broadway star, and now he was picking up Lorne Michaels from NBC. The man had credits on what felt like nearly every television show currently in production in the United States, but he was most well known for the production of Saturday Night Live—Richie’s dream job.

“She’s doing well, thank you for asking Édouard.” Richie would have loved to listen to François’ accent. He was certain the comedian would have picked up the heavy accent within minutes of listening to the other man speak. “She ‘ad her surgery about a month ago, and she is recovering well.” 

Eddie patted François on the arm and nodded as passengers came from the terminal. This group of people was directed away from the usual crowds and brought straight over to Eddie and his group waiting in the wings. “I’m glad to hear it, François. Give my best to your wife and your daughter.”

Eddie spotted Lorne Michaels as he was walking down the hallway. Richie was obsessed with him; he was looking into the multitude of ways he could get a role on Saturday Night Live, many of which involved meeting Lorne Michaels someway, somehow. It had been Richie’s greatest dream since he was sixteen. Eddie knew he wanted to speak to Mr. Michaels about Richie, but unlike his lover, Eddie was nervous about bringing up things like this to others.

“Mr. Michaels,” Eddie greeted, sticking his hand out to take the man’s carry on luggage from him. “Is this all for you today, sir?”

Lorne Michaels said it was, and Eddie nodded a goodbye to François before showing the man to his black town car that belonged to the business. “If you’ll follow me, sir.” 

The town car wasn’t far away; it never was for high profile clients like this. Eddie opened the back passenger door to allow Mr. Michaels to climb in, and he went to put his luggage in the back. After he quietly shut the door, he slid into the drivers seat and made sure that the other man was comfortable in the back seat of the town car.

“Are you comfortable, sir?” Eddie asked, checking the mirrors and signaling to leave his spot. He had no clue how he was going to bring Richie up to the other man. He had barely said two words to all of the questions Eddie had asked, and Eddie couldn’t just start talking about a comedian he knew, knowing that Lorne Michaels knew that Eddie knew who he was.

“Would you like music, or no, sir?” Eddie asked, looking into the rearview mirror.

“No music is fine, Mr. Kaspbrak. I’ve plenty of emails to respond to, and don’t particularly need the background noise.”

“Yes, Mr. Michaels,” Eddie said as he focused on the road. He sighed, truly wondering if he was going to miss this chance for Richie.

He began to think about his boyfriend, and thought that at least he could bring back François’ accent to the other man. He began making the shapes with his mouth that the French man had made as he spoke to Eddie at the airport. 

“Édouard,” he tried saying under his breath. “Édouard… she ‘ad her sur-jree, Édouard.”

“What accent is that you’re trying there, Mr. Kaspbrak?” Lorne Michaels asked from the back seat, looking up from his phone.

“Oh, my friend François has a very thick accent, and I was trying to figure it out a little bit.” Eddie said, slightly embarrassed to have been caught. 

“I’ll say impressions may not be your forte.” The man laughed kindly from the back seat.

“Oh, no… they’re definitely not, sir.” Eddie laughed, “No, my boy — my best friend… he’s a comedian and he does a lot of what he calls Voices. He’s actually pretty good. He does this spot on impression of Barak Obama that sends chills up your back. He’s just very good at it.” 

Eddie paused to look back in the mirror, the older man was looking into the mirror and listening intently to what Eddie was saying, “Anyway, sir, I’ve not had the opportunity to introduce him to my other friend, François, and I really wanted him to hear his accent. I bet he could do his voice if he wanted to and he tried hard enough.”

“Tell me a little about the comedy he does. Does he have a show somewhere?” Eddie couldn’t believe he was actually speaking to Lorne Michaels about his boyfriend and it hadn’t needed to be orchestrated beyond a little bit of embarrassing himself. 

“He does, sir. He is the headline act at Dangerfield’s currently, and he does a bit of freelance writing with the Post, mostly satire. I have to be honest that I don’t always understand it, but it seems to be really funny and a hit for a lot of people.” Eddie glanced back in the mirror, “But his show is a lot of impressions and like I said Voices and he makes up these whole characters and has whole kind of… improv scenes, I guess is what they’re called.” Eddie shrugged, admitting he didn’t know a lot about comedy, just what Richie thought was funny.

“Does your friend have a name?” The man in the backseat asked, pulling out his cell phone once again.

“Yes, sir. It’s Richie Tozier, sir. He goes by Richie “Trashmouth” Tozier on stage. I’ve been after him to change it for years, but he sticks with it.” Eddie shrugged, pretending this was just an average conversation for him. Eddie thought maybe he deserved an award for acting so cool about this, especially that Lorne Michaels was asking about Richie and wanting to know who he was.

“Oh, yes, I’ve heard the name before.” Mr. Michaels said. Eddie was surprised that Lorne Michaels had heard of his boyfriend. He wanted to ask more questions, like ‘how have you heard about him?’ or ‘what did you hear about him?’ just so he could bring the information back to Richie. 

“Maybe a few of us will have to go down and check him out sometime.”

“Wow, yeah. He would certainly be surprised,” Eddie said, trying to remain cool. “I mean, he gets a pretty good audience every night, but I think he’d be excited to have some real professionals in the crowd, too.” 

Mr. Michaels leaned back in his seat and made a sort of non-committal noise in the back of his throat. Eddie didn’t really know what to make of that, especially since the man didn’t say anything further, nor did he ask any further questions.

The remainder of the ride was a little silent, save for Lorne Michaels making a quick phone call that Eddie didn’t understand a bit. It was a quick ride into the city, and Eddie was dropping Mr. Michaels at 30 Rock in just a little over thirty minutes. It helped that there wasn’t gridlock traffic, but Eddie knew the shortcuts around the city and got the man to his destination as quickly as he could.

Once he pulled over and opened the door for Mr. Michaels, the man stuck out his hand to shake Eddie’s and take his luggage. “I wouldn’t say anything to your… friend about our conversation. If I or my team is able to make it down to see him, it seems to make performers nervous. Let’s just keep this between you and I, hmm?”

Eddie nodded quickly, understanding what he was saying. “Thank you, Mr. Michaels. I won’t say anything.”

With a nod, Lorne Michaels began walking quickly into NBC Studios and he was gone in a flash. Eddie climbed back into his car and did a quick happy dance before looking down at his phone, eager to send Bev a text.

[Text Message: something’s wrong with bev. she just came home when i was leaving. can someone check in on her?  
Second Message: I just checked on her. She said she needed a nap and would feel better later.  
Third Message: Thanks for ✓ing bill]

Eddie frowned and wanted to text back, but a car behind him honked, telling him he needed to move. Eddie put on his turn signal and checked to make sure it was safe to pull out before using his voice commands in his car to call Bill.

“Hey, Eddie.” Bill answered the phone. He sounded tired. Eddie knew Bill’s tired voice over the phone pretty well by this point, and Bill sounded tired.

“Hey, Bill.” Eddie said, looking into the rearview mirror and making a turn toward his office. “What’s wrong with Bev? Is she sick? Does she have a fever? She was fine earlier, but the flu can come on quick. I’m feeling fine, though, and if she has a fever I’ll probably get a fever soon, too.”

Bill was quick to jump in and reassure Eddie. “No, No, Eddie. Sh-she doesn’t seem to have a fever. Sh-she just needs a nap.”

“I don’t think Bev takes naps unless she’s sick.” Eddie shook his head, “Except that one time…” Eddie trailed off. Bill remembered what he was speaking about.

“I don’t think it’s that. She would have said something.” Bill sighed. Eddie could hear him run his hands through his hair. 

Eddie bit his fingernail as he pulled up behind a minivan, as he was sitting at the light, the minivan turned on its hazard lights. Typically, Eddie would have blown his horn and maneuvered around the other vehicle, but he put his car in park, leaned back in his seat and looked at the stereo. 

“Bill, she didn’t say anything when she miscarried. It took her nearly a week to tell us, and she only told us because she needed someone to go to the hospital with her.” Eddie was spiraling, thinking about the worst that could happen to Bev in the time he finished work and made it home.

He could tell when Bill sat down in his chair. It squeaked loudly, and the wheels on the old chair clacked against the hardwood floor of his bedroom. “We kuh-can’t assume it happened again.” Bill sighed, “let’s give her time to come to us, to teh-tell us what’s wrong before we assume it’s something bad. Mm-Maybe she just has a headache.” Bill spoke slowly, but the stutter still made itself present. Bill really was tired.

Eddie pulled at the cuticle from the first finger on his left hand with his teeth. “Maybe.” He was worried about one of the loves of his life, and he didn’t want to just drop the subject if it meant helping her.

“You know we can’t mm-make her tell us anything, Eddie. She’ll come to us when she’s reh-ready, and we have to respect her space.”

Eddie nodded, still clearly worried. Bill could hear his worry in his silence. “It’ll be okay. She’ll tell us when she’s reh-ready.”

“You’re right, Bill.” The minivan started to move again, Eddie put the town car in drive. Eddie didn’t really want him to be right, but after more than two decades of friendship and a little less of being in a relationship with her, Eddie knew that he couldn’t pressure Bev into telling them what was wrong, unless it was something life threatening. 

“I know you’re still worried, but I promise it will be okay.” He didn’t respond to Bill, but Bill knew Eddie heard him. “Drive safe, okay. We’ll see you when you get home, and Bev will be up and feeling better I’m sure.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you when I get home.” Eddie said, his stomach still twisting with nervousness. “Call me if she starts to seem sick.”

“I will. I’ll call if anything changes.” Bill paused and said in farewell, “I love you.”

“I love you.” Eddie answered. He gripped his steering wheel as Bill hung up the phone. There was nothing he could do except head back to the office. Without turning on his GPS, Eddie started to head back uptown where he had his office building.

It was evening by the time Bev woke up from her nap. The sun had set already, but no one seemed to want to bother her in the big bedroom. At least no one had woken her up in the last few hours. She assumed Bill had told the others that she was home. He had noticed her reappearance earlier in the day and come to check in on her as she was changing out of her business suit. 

Bev had told him that she was fine, but that she didn’t feel the best and just wanted to take a nap. She also assured him that she didn’t think she was sick, but that she just needed sleep and that she’d be right as rain after. She felt a bit better at least, after waking up. She felt like her mind was clearer and the pictures she saw would be easy enough to talk to the guys about now that her head had cleared just a bit. 

She sighed and stretched in the big bed, and looked around the room that was already dark. Bev hated taking naps in the middle of the day because the bed was too empty, and if she woke up she couldn’t just roll over next to someone and breathe with them until she fell asleep. But the sheets smelled like them. Her spot in the bed was usually between Ben and Mike. Ben slept on the outside of the bed, because it was easiest for him to get up and go for a run at five when the others were still sleeping. She could smell Ben’s shampoo, and Mike’s body wash surrounding her, and if she rolled over a little more she knew she would find Stan, Bill, Eddie and Richie’s scents as well.

Though it was more than ten years away, Bev thought a little about menopause and how when she started to go through that change, sleeping between the two men biggest men would be difficult for her. They were already furnaces at night, she had no clue what she’d do when she was also a furnace between them. 

Shrugging off the thought of the future, Bev crawled out of the massive bed and walked tenderly into the bathroom, her joints a bit stiff after falling asleep without Mike to throw her legs over and Ben to wrap his arms around her. Her curls were flattened and messy, so she pulled them up out of her face into a ponytail. She had thrown on one of Richie’s somewhat clean t-shirts that she had pulled from the laundry hamper, and found a pair of Eddie’s sweats that would be a little long on her legs, but would fit her around her hips. Bill’s pants always fit well at the legs, but were slightly too tight at the hips for her.

Richie’s shirt was one of his favorites; all it said was ‘shirt!’ on it, but he wore it all the time. It was a light olive color, and made Bev’s complexion look bright and like she was somewhat well rested even though she still felt a little disoriented from her nap. It also smelled like him, and even though he could be a lot to handle at the best of times, she loved him and couldn’t imagine her life without him in it.

She didn’t bother with socks or slippers as she made her way out of the bedroom and downstairs to see where the others were. She noted that all of the bedrooms on the way down were empty, their doors open and lights off. It was a rule that lights were turned off in unused rooms; Ben was hyperconscious about saving electricity where they could, since the home was older and he hadn’t been able to install solar panels like he had wished because of building codes. She couldn’t hear anything from the bottom floor, so she frowned as she reached the main level and looked around looking for anyone.

“Hello?” She called out. Surely someone was home. They would have told her if everyone was leaving without her.

“In here, Bevvy.” Mike called out from the living room. Bev belatedly recalled that tonight was Ben and Mike’s date night.

The television was on, but the volume was turned low, showing a basketball game. She could hear the announcer’s voice, but the noise she could hear the most clearly was the squeaks of the players shoes against the hardwood floor. Ben and Mike must have been talking; as much as they loved sports, they loved talking to each other more and both were conscientious about turning the volume of the television low so they could spend the conversation talking rather than being interrupted by the noise in the background.

Bev smiled as she took in the sight of Mike and Ben lounging together on the couch. Mike was stretched out on the recliner closer to the television, and Ben was tucked in under Mike’s arm with his head on the other man’s shoulder and his feet tangled with Mike’s on the recliner. 

Ben’s lips were pinker than usual, and a light blush settled on his cheeks when Bev came into the room. He didn’t move from under Mike’s arm, but he did adjust himself a little so his erection wasn’t entirely noticeable. Of all of them, Ben had the hardest time coming into a polyamorous relationship. It wasn’t that he didn’t deeply love his friends, he did, more than life itself it seemed at the time, but he didn’t have that much attraction to men. Over time, though, Ben began to feel that the love he felt for the others was enough to propel a physical relationship with them on mutually agreed upon terms which most often happened in group situations rather than one-on-one. 

As far as Bev knew, this situation between Mike and Ben was a newer development, one she was pleased to see happen. 

Bev wrapped her arms around herself, just underneath her breasts. Her bra was upstairs in the hamper, but she didn’t mind one bit. Once home, she often went without a bra, simply because it was more comfortable. The action of hugging herself pushed her breasts up making them slightly perkier. The two men on the couch appreciated the view.

“I don’t mean to interrupt your date,” Bev said quietly. “I was just curious where everyone was.”

Mike smiled at her and waved her over with his free hand. “It’s alright. Come on over.”

Ben smiled too, “Yeah, come on over, Bevvy. We don’t mind.” Ben sat up, but didn’t move away from Mike. Mike sat up a little more too, but he didn’t put his feet down on the recliner. He and Ben scooted a little bit to give Bev room between them on the couch.

“No,” Bev said, shaking her head. “It’s game night. This is your thing.” 

Mike and Ben looked at each other and then opened up their arms to get her to come closer. “It’s only the three of us in the house right now, Bev.” Ben said, indicating that she shouldn’t feel like she’s imposing.

“We’re not going to make you go hang out by yourself if you don’t want to be alone.” Mike tagged on. 

Bev climbed in between them and they both wrapped their arms around her. Bev was half on both of their laps, and she could feel their half-hard erections through their sweatpants. If it were a different day, Bev thought she might initiate something here and now. 

“How are you feeling, darlin’?” Mike asked, dropping into a slightly southern twang. He’d picked up the sound from the way Ben would pronounce some words when they were kids and he’d only recently moved to Maine from Texas. Bev smiled fondly at her memory of two round faced boys who had bonded over trips to the library.

“Let me guess, Bill told everyone I was sick?” Bev asked looking between the two men who were holding her tightly in their arms.

“Richie’s the one who let everyone know you came home early.” Ben said, ratting their lover out. “Bill said you just wanted to take a nap and that you were fine.”

“I am fine.” She said slowly. “I wasn’t, but I’m feeling better now.”

“What was wrong?” Ben asked, his face worried. Ben had a habit of wearing his emotions front and center. He had never been able to lie or hide what he was feeling, and when it was one of his lovers it was impossible for the man to hide anything. 

Mike was similar. He had a better poker face and was better able to listen objectively before he put a feeling front and center for his lovers. It came in handy when he was listening to his students bullshit about why their assignment was going to be late when Mike knew they were lying to him.

“Physically, nothing. Something happened at work that I need to tell all of you about, but physically, I’m fine.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ben asked, and Bev nodded. She didn’t speak though.

Mike began running his fingers up and down her neck and back, and Bev relaxed back into his fingers. Ben picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles gently. She turned her head towards Ben and he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. He tasted like Mike and Bev couldn’t help but wish she had seen that moment between the two of them. 

Ben pulled back, his eyes were closed. He slowly opened his eyes, a warm honey brown and gave a small smile to Bev. She could still see the concern in his eyes, but he didn’t press for more information.

“Where are the others?” Bev asked, her voice a little breathy after the kiss. Ben was a really good kisser, and had always been a very good kisser in her perspective.

“Bill and Stan drug Eddie to the bar down the street for just a little bit. He was really worried about you and couldn’t stop hovering outside the bedroom door.” Bev frowned as Mike told her how Eddie was taking all of this, even though it was nothing serious. She knew that in the past she had tried to hide something wrong with her, which made Eddie nervous now, but she couldn’t blame herself entirely for that. Most of the anxiety came from Eddie’s childhood.

Without mincing words, Eddie’s childhood had been fucked up. His mother suffered from Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, and Eddie had been the victim of some intense abuse until he was sixteen and his friends had sheltered him from his mother. Richie’s parents had taken him in to help him recover from the abuse he received, and supported his recovery through therapy. While most symptoms Eddie faced nearly twenty years later were minimal, when one of his lovers became sick Eddie had a hard time relaxing and letting the ill person feel better without a lot of fretting. The only other difficulty Eddie had was in going to the doctor himself; he’d fight going to the doctor for any ailment, but especially if he was worried about the outcome.

Bev sighed, knowing that her abnormal behavior would have frightened Eddie, but she didn’t feel upset that she hadn’t said anything yet. She would have to tell everyone, and they’d all have to figure out what it is that they would be doing to handle this. She didn’t want to say anything yet, not until everyone was home.

“Will one of you text them to let them know I’m up? I know Eddie will feel better if he knows I’ve not died in my sleep.” She began to wiggle to get up from between the boys. She thought it would probably be better if she got herself something to eat before the other three came home. There’d be questions, and it would be easier to answer them if she had food in her stomach. 

Mike’s arms pulled tight against her, preventing her from getting up. “Where are you going?” Mike asked, leaning forward and pressing his head against her shoulder.

“I’m going to go get something to eat.” She laughed, and gently swatted Mike’s hands away. Mike let her get up, but he put his feet down so he could sit up as well.

“We could make you something.” Bev leaned down and kiss him, and gently pushed him back into his seat.

“You’re on a date. I can make myself a bowl of cereal or a sandwich.” She nodded to the television, “Besides, you’ve got a basketball game to watch.” She hadn’t been paying attention to the game at all, but she could tell it was a game between the Celtics and the Knicks, and she had no clue which team the boys were rooting for. Bev wasn’t certain they knew either, but they were having a good time watching the game together.

Ben and Mike settled back into the couch, a little less cozy than they had been before Bev came into the room, but still sitting close together. Bev walked around them and pressed twin kisses on the crown of their heads before she went into the kitchen to grab herself a bite to eat.

On top of the fridge were four boxes of cereal. Three of which Richie referred to as “boring grown-up cereal” and Richie’s box of Capt’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries with its fake captain who was really only a commander. Richie, haven taken offense to the brand’s name, had crossed out the Capt’n and written Commander in black sharpie on the box. He did this with every box of Capt’n Crunch that came into the house, and he had ever since he had learned that the Capt’n was an imposter.

“Commander Crunch it is.” Bev said, reaching high to grab the cereal box from its place above the fridge. Bev also grabbed the milk and grabbed a large cereal bowl. Ritchie, the chaotic shit that he is, poured the milk into the bowl first to piss off Stan and Eddie. Bev, being a bit more sensible, poured the cereal first and then added enough milk that the cereal floated to the top of the bowl.

She sat at the kitchen island which didn’t have enough chairs for all of them to sit, so it was only used when one or two of them were interested in having a snack. Her spoon was halfway to her mouth when she heard the front door slam open, and Eddie urgently ask the two in the living room where she was.

Her eyebrows were raised and her mouth was open to take a bite as three of her lovers skidded to a halt in the kitchen. A couple of the Crunch Berries slipped off her spoon and plopped into the large cereal bowl. She froze there, her mouth open and surprised, as she looked at the three men and they looked at her.

“Oh my God.” Stan said, “She took a nap and she turned into Richie.”

Bev brought the spoon to her mouth and chewed her spoonful of cereal before sticking her tongue out at Stan. 

Because the other three were standing there in the kitchen, Ben and Mike wandered in as well. They knew Bev was sitting at the counter, so didn’t spend much time looking her over before looking at the other three.

“Why are you guys just standing here?” Ben asked, but then he looked up and saw what everyone else was looking at. He started to chuckle, realizing what the others saw when they looked at Beverly at the counter.

The amount of times the others had walked in on Richie in this position, with the same shirt on, his hair ruffled, and eating a bowl of cereal was too uncanny for them to get over. Eddie pulled out his phone and took a quick picture to send to Richie later.

“Oh, fuck you guys.” Bev said, digging into her cereal more. She wrapped a protective hand around the bowl as Eddie walked over to her. He sat down at the stool beside her and put a hand up to her forehead.

“You don’t feel warm.” He said, looking at her closely. Bev could tell that he was looking for signs of illness or harm that would indicate why she was in this position. Why had she come home for a nap, only to wake up after dark and act like Richie when he came home after a show. 

“I’m not sick, Eds.” Bev said, wrapping her foot around his leg so she could continue eating her cereal. Eddie frowned further, the wrinkles in his forehead becoming more pronounced. She knew he was holding back asking Bev what was wrong. Bev could feel him sitting on the edge of the seat and staring at her out of concern.

“Can I eat my cereal?” Bev asked, spoon full of cereal once more as she looked at Eddie and the others standing in the doorway still. “I promise I’ll tell you what happened when Richie gets home.”

Eddie pulled out his phone and started texting someone, “It’s bad enough that you can’t tell us how you are until Richie comes home? I’m sending Antonio to pick him up when his shift is done.”

Bev sighed and put her spoon down before taking the phone from Eddie. “It’s nothing bad like that, Eddie. I just don’t want to leave Richie out of this conversation because you know how unfair that is and how hurt he feels when we talk about big things without him.” 

She put the phone down on the table and Eddie took her hand. “It’s not like before?” The others in the doorway took a step closer. At first they hadn’t thought it was another miscarriage, but once Eddie started on about it and worrying about it, the others did have a moment of fear that it was similar to the last time Bev had something big to tell them.

Bev quickly shook her head, “No! No.” She took Eddie’s hand and squeezed it between her own. She turned to face him fully, invested in making sure he knew that she wasn’t keeping this away from him. “No. I promise. It’s not a miscarriage again, and it’s not a pregnancy. The last time I went to the doctor she said the IUD was still doing its job and everything was fine. Please don’t be scared, Eddie. It’s not that.”

An audible breath went out around the room. It was clear that the others were scared for Bev when it came to the chance of pregnancy and miscarriage. Before, Bev hadn’t even really known she was pregnant when the miscarriage happened. They’d all been in their late-twenties when it happened, and Bev had been on the pill. It was right after they all stoped using condoms.

With perfect use the pill is about 99.7% effective, but the average person does not take the pill perfectly. For the average person the pill is only about 91% effective, and unfortunately Bev was one of the 9% who became pregnant while on the pill.

When Bev came to them the night she told them she miscarried, she came to them confused and scared with her phone in her hand. She had just gotten off the phone with her doctor, and her doctor advised her to go to the hospital. Bev had asked the boys if one of them would take her. Ben had immediately volunteered, and he had kept everyone at home updated on Bev’s condition while she was being seen in the ER.

While none of them had been particularly interested in being parents, the following months were difficult for all of them as they came to terms with the fact that there had been a possibility of a child between all of them, and the fact that it had been lost before they even knew.

It had been years since it had been an active thought in any of their minds, and Bev had been healthy in the years between. They hadn’t needed to think about it until the moment Bev came home in a way that was uncharacteristic for her. They hadn’t needed to think about it until Bev was sitting in the kitchen in the evening eating a bowl of Richie’s cereal and wearing Richie’s shirt.

Bev looked around the kitchen and sighed, “I promise I am fine.” She turned back to her cereal, which was starting to get soggy. “I won’t tell you all of it because, like I said, it’s not fair to Richie. A package came for me today at work and it scared me a little bit. I’ll tell you all the whole story when Richie gets home.”

With that, Bev returned to her cereal, and Eddie picked up his phone. “I’m still going to ask Antonio to do a run for Richie. He’s on shift already, and Richie will be home at 10:20 instead of 11:30.”

Bev nodded, and slowly the others parted ways to wait in the living room until Richie came home. Eddie stayed beside her while she ate her cereal. She could hear the volume on the television turn up and the boys talk about putting on a documentary or movie.

“I’m sorry for overreacting.” Eddie said, his voice quiet. He wasn’t looking at Bev, his gaze was lost somewhere on his phone as it faced down on the kitchen counter.

Bev took the last bite of her cereal and leaned over to kiss Eddie on the temple. She couldn’t be mad at him for falling into his worries like he did. “We’ll keep working on it, okay, Eds?” Her hand went to his shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay.”


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a lot of smut and has some Bev and Eddie sexuality (though no intercourse between the two). The smut happens a little less than halfway through, so if you want to read to that point and skip the rest, feel free!
> 
> Additionally, I'm back to work now so have less time to work on writing, though I'm trying--I have another fic in the works too, so my time has been split. Sorry if there's delays between updates from this point on.
> 
> To those who are reading, thank you thank you! I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Four

The front door creaked open at 10:23 on the dot. Though they were pretending to listen to the television, six faces turned toward the slowly opening door as Richie made his way inside. They watched as he quietly slipped off his shoes and hung his messenger bag up on the coat rack. Richie didn’t notice them in the dim light of the living room. He turned away from the shoe rack and took two steps towards the living room before looking up and jumping about a foot into the air.

“What the fuck?!” He shrieked, clutching his chest as if he were a little old woman clutching her pearls. “Jesus Christ, guys.” His breath came out as a pant. “You’re all just sitting there staring at me from the dark of the living room like some creepy body snatchers horror movie. What the fuck are you doing?”

He took another couple steps forward, but his speech didn’t stop. “Who died? You all look like someone died. Wait, is this an intervention? Are you all up to give me the whole intervention treatment as soon as I walk in the door? I swear to you, I’m still not on drugs. I’ve never been on drugs, except Stan’s good shit, but then I only smoke with you guys. And I cooled it with the momma jokes when I was sixteen. Okay, sure every once in a while one comes up that’s just too good to pass up, but for the most part I’ve cooled it.”

Bev stood up and put her hands out to Richie to get him to slow down. “Richie,” she said softly. “It’s not an intervention.”

Richie looked Bev over and looked to the others who were still sitting on the couch. At twenty-seven, Richie’s first instinct would have been to tell her how hot she looked in his clothes. Then he’d make a comment that he’d never be able to wear that shirt again without getting a stiffy because she was wearing that shirt without a bra and her boobs were there, in his shirt. At thirty-seven he still felt the same but he had learned a little restraint. He could appreciate that Bev was in his clothes and that she looked hot. 

Richie looked at the guys on the couch and then back at Bev. None of them looked like they had any answers as to what was going on. Bill gave him a shrug and Mike mentioned for him to come have a seat on the couch with them. 

“You’re the ringleader today, huh, Bev?” Richie asked, coming into the living room. He noticed that everyone was in their pajamas; mostly they were a mismatch of each others shirts and pants. Eddie was in one of Richie’s t-shirts. His boxers poked out from under the long hem. Stan matched perfectly in the blue pajama set he frequently wore around the house. The rest were in some sort of mash up between sweat pants and undershirts that looked clean.

Richie, in his work dirty clothes, sat down between Bill and Mike. They were the two who would care the least about Richie’s clothes. “What’s going on?” He asked, looking at everyone. “Is this about you coming home early today. Are you okay?”

Bev sat down on the coffee table in front of everyone. This was customary when someone needed to talk to everyone about something important. Ben sat here when he told everyone that he was purchasing his own architecture firm. Eddie did the same when he told everyone that he’d be taking over the limo company when his boss stepped down. The tradition started well before they moved into this house too, with Bill pulling them all together at his, Mike and Richie’s apartment to let everyone know that his first book had been rejected over twenty-eight times. 

“Bev told us that a package came for her at work today,” Bill started, nodding at Bev as she tried to get comfortable in front of everyone at the coffee table. “But she said she didn’t want to tell us anything else until you got home.”

Richie gave Bev a soft smile, thankful that she waited for him before telling everyone whatever news she had to share. Bev was leaning forward, her elbows on her knees, and her hands clasped together under her chin.

“I would have told those of you it affected personally, but after sleeping on it, it affects all of us, and I think we should all know what’s happening. Not just some of us.”

Stan sat up and mirrored Bev’s posture. Ben and Mike already had their feet on the ground, but even they sat up just a little straighter in their seats, showing Bev that they were listening intently. Richie, Bill and Eddie shifted anxiously in anticipation of what Bev was going to tell them.

“Like Bill said, I got a package today at work. I didn’t know who it was from, and because it came internally, it didn’t have stamps or a return address on it. It just had my name written on it in handwriting that looked familiar, but I couldn’t place.” The men all looked at each other. This wasn’t exactly where they thought this was going to go, but it was weird in itself. A sense of unease settled among them. Collectively, they’d all seen one too many horror films, and they wondered what contents would come spilling out of the envelope.

“There were pictures in it. Pictures of me and some of you guys.” She locked eyes with Mike, Eddie, and Bill. “Normally, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to me to have pictures taken with you, but these ones were different. They were more intimate and caught us kissing and it was clear that the intent was to make me look like I was cheating with all of you.”

“How do you know that?” Bill asked, frowning deeply.

“There was a slip of paper. It just said one word on it—slut.”

A roar filled the room, all of the men sat forward toward Bev and were loudly protesting the use of the term against her. It was hard to make out what they were saying, but they were all saying the same thing, ‘Bev was not a slut.’ There were times in college in which the seven of them would go out together, and girls jealous of the attention Bev received from her guys would walk by their table and call Bev a slut. Like now, the boys would be offended for her, but Bev never felt the shame that the word was intended to bring.

Bev had gone to her aunt when it had first happened as a teenager, and her aunt had patiently listened as Bev cried on her shoulder. Aunt Kay held her, and wiped her tears with a damp rag and she said something that had stuck with Bev her whole life:

‘Are you a slut?’ Her Aunt Kay had asked.

‘No,’ Bev sniffed, roughly wiping at her eyes. They were red and swollen from the tears that had fallen down her face for the better part of the evening.

‘No.’ Her aunt agreed. “You can sleep with one person your entire life, or you could sleep with a hundred in a weekend, and still, someone out there will think you are a slut. It has nothing to do with who you sleep with and everything to do with the power they think they hold over you. Do these assholes have power over you?’

‘No,’ Bev said, her voice stronger and more determined. Of course these girls didn’t have power over her.

‘No.’ Her aunt said, more resolute and determined than even Beverly was herself. ‘No, the only person who has power over you is you.’

Bev had asked if it was happening because she was friends with so many boys. Her aunt told her, ‘honey, the only reason it’s happening is because those girls see you with the kindest, sweetest, most handsome boys in school and it’s clear that they love you. They’re jealous, that’s all it is. So don’t you let anyone’s jealousy come between you and your boys.’

Bev was grateful for her Aunt Kay. The woman had raised her like her own daughter, and Bev’s cousin treated her like a sister. They were the closest thing to family that Bev had since she was removed from her father’s custody at age nine. They had gone through a lot together; the easiest being the divorce of Bev’s aunt and uncle and a move back to Derry from Portland when Bev entered high school. 

The slight woman held up her hands, palms out and tried to silence the room. The men took notice and slowly started to quiet until the only one still talking was Eddie.

“Fuck them. How dare they fucking say that about you! You are not a slut, Bev. You’re not!” Eddie’s face was red and scrunched up. His forehead wrinkled. His fists were clenched beside him. Eddie had a hairpin trigger when it came to things that he was passionate about; he was certainly passionate about his lovers.

“I know, Eddie.” Bev said, her voice soft as she leaned into him. “I know. I’m not concerned about what this person thinks of me. I worry because this person has pictures of some of you with me. What does that mean for us? What if this person decides that in order to slut shame me, they out all of us?”

“I think we were all aware that this would happen at some point. To be fair, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened earlier.” Mike said, calm and collected. Ben nodded beside him.

“I always worried it would happen because of one of my books, especially when I go on tour and get interviewed by people like Stephen Colbert or one of the morning shows.” Bill said. “Apparently, my personal life isn’t as important to talk about in comparison to the reviews of my books.”

“You wouldn’t be to blame, Bill. Just like Bev isn’t to blame.” Stan said, his voice even and calm. Stan put his hand on Bill’s shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze.

“What do we want to do?” Bev asked, looking around the room at her lovers.

“Should we go to the police?” Ben asked, “Let them know that someone is stalking you? Get a paper trail going.”

Bev softly shook her head. Mike spoke up, “I’d prefer if we didn’t go to the police yet.” Mike had enough of the New York Police Department over the last several years. While the ‘Stop and Frisk’ policy was supposedly thrown out, because Mike worked in one of the most affluent areas of Manhattan he was treated suspiciously by the police at every turn.

Not only that, they had a horrible history with protecting women who sought help. Even Bev was uncomfortable soliciting their help at this point when the only contact that had been made was through her company.

“I think Mike’s right.” Bev said, frowning. “I’ll say something to security at work, and make sure they keep an eye out in the building, but I don’t think it’s time to go to the police, yet.”

While the others hadn’t had the same experiences with the police as Mike and Bev, they differed to their judgement about whether it was time to turn to the police or not. They knew that their experiences weren’t the same, but that didn’t make Mike or Bev’s experiences less true either.

The guys looked around at each other and sighed. “What if we just… came out?” Bill asked nervously. Richie whipped his head around at Bill with surprised eyes, the others turned similarly. “I-I mean, this puh-person is just trying to say Bev’s sleeping with all these guh-guys, and in reality it’s just a really wuh-weird, and really loving ruh-ruh-relationship that we’re all in together.”

Stan put his hand on Bill’s thigh, and rubbed his hand in small circles to soothe him a bit. Bill had maintained an aura of aloofness when it came to talking about his relationships to anyone in the media and even with his own family. Bill’s parents knew that he lived in New York City with his childhood best friends, but they had never come to visit and they had never shown any interest in what Bill did with his life.

“You’re ready to come out to everyone?” Ben asked, leaning forward to look Bill in the eye.

“Well, muh-maybe not everyone. Maybe just our families first.”

“Coming out to our families would be a step.” Richie said with a slow nod. He wouldn’t say this, but he didn’t know how ready he was to be open with the world about his sexuality, especially since he hadn’t really ‘made it’ yet as a comedian, and the comedy world was notorious for its homophobia. 

“If we come out to them, if it’s ever leaked at least they won’t be shocked.” Ben sighed, licking his lips with worry. “And maybe our friends.”

“You are my friends,” Richie said looking around the room. “Wait, the rest of you have other friends?”

Stan and Beverly shrugged with a slight nod. Ben and Mike nodded earnestly. Eddie and Bill held up their hands ambivalently, like they acknowledged that they did have additional friends, but that they weren’t as close as these people in this room.

“Wow. Just wow.” Richie said, in mild sarcasm. “I can’t believe any of you. Having friends outside of us.” He looked at Stan. “Stanley, name a friend of yours.”

Stan looked around the room, “Why are you suspicious that I have other friends?”

“Because, your biggest interest is birds and puzzles. Who else likes birds and puzzles?”

“My friends Christian.” Stan said with a nod. “And Patricia.” He said these names confidently, because he knew that they were truly friends of his. “I mean there are other people I’m friends with, but they’re the ones who enjoy birds and puzzles, too.”

“Edwardo,” Richie turned to Eddie. “Who are your friends?”

“Other than you guys, I’d count maybe François and maybe Antonio.” 

“Who the fuck is François?” Richie asked, his mouth open in disbelief. “How could you betray me like this?” Richie said, “How could all of you betray me like this?”

“Oh!” Eddie said, “I wanted to tell you about François. I wanted you to hear his accent.” Eddie tried to say some of the words he had practiced earlier in the day in front of Lorne Michaels before he had gotten the texts that Bev was unwell. 

“Spaghetti man,” Richie said, wrapping his hand around Eddie’s neck. “Accents are not your thing.”

“Anyway, before Richie was alarmed by the fact that we all had friends, we were talking about coming out to our parents.” Ben said, leaning forward and looking around the room. “Are we all okay with that?”

The seven lovers looked around the room and nodded. “Aunt Kay already knows, basically.” Bev said softly. “She’s known since high school that I was in love with all of you. Before I did, even.”

Mike smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Mom will be fine with it. Dad and I talked before he passed, and he told me ‘love whomever you love, and know that we will love them, too.’ I know she was listening to that bit of the conversation, and I know she already loves all of you individually. She loves you as my best friends, I’m pretty sure she’ll love you as my lovers, too.”

Bev smiled at Mike and wrapped her hand around his briefly. “How do the rest of you feel about it?”

“Mom’ll be fine with it.” Ben said, “She’ll be confused, but she’ll be fine with it.” His hand went up Mike’s back and rested on his shoulder. 

Richie shrugged, as did Bill. While, in general, Richie’s parents were supportive, he’d not ever talked to them about the potential of bringing home five boyfriends and a girlfriend for Thanksgiving dinner one day. Of course, they came to visit him in New York and visited the house several times, but they always took a hotel room when they came for a long weekend visit, and they’ve never been invited to any of the bedrooms other than Richie’s on the third floor. 

Bill didn’t talk to his parents that often. He had grown up and gone to school, and he checked in on them around the holidays, but they were often traveling and not interested in visiting New York City.

Eddie shook his head, “If I’ll come out to anyone, it’ll be Richie’s parents. They’re the only ones who need to know anything about me.” Eddie didn’t speak to his mother at all anymore. The others didn’t question him about his decision to not give her a call.

The only one who hadn’t answered was Stan. Being last, all eyes turned to him to wait for his answer. Stan looked around the room at everyone and sighed, “Of course, I’ll say something to them. I just don’t know how they’ll take it.”

Bill wrapped his arm around Stan’s shoulders, and Stan curled into Bill just a little bit. “I think they’ll have the hardest time of everyone accepting it all. That we’re living together, but not just as roommates, and that we’re all in a relationship.”

Bill pressed a kiss into Stan’s hair. It smelled strongly of his shampoo as he had only washed it a few hours ago after he got home from the bar with Eddie and Bill. Bill tried not to inhale too long, but he took in a long whiff of the other man’s fresh scent before turning away and focused his attention once more on Bev.

Bev smiled at Bill, having noticed his momentary distraction, and then she turned to look at the other men. “So, are we really going to do this? We’re going to come out to our families, and if this… stalker decides to leak the photos to the press we’ll just… deal with it?”

Everyone in the room began to nod and mutter that it seemed like the best idea. To start slowly opening themselves up to people they care about, and then if the world found out who cared. They’d survive. They always did, especially when they had each other. 

Bev stood up, noticing that it was nearing eleven-thirty when Richie typically got home and the rest were already in bed and sound asleep, except for Eddie who always waited up for Richie to get home. The others stood up and stretched too, many of them looking slightly sleepy.

Ben stretched and yawned and looked around the room. “Bedtime?” He asked, hoping others would go up with him and head to bed. Ben, while he didn’t seek sex as often as some of his partners, relished in going to bed with the others piled with him in a large entanglement. Mike clapped his hands on Ben’s shoulders and leaned in to press a kiss to his soft brown hair.

“Bedtime.” Mike agreed, his voice soft and low. It sent a shiver down Ben’s spine, and hooked itself just behind his navel.

“I’m not quite ready for bed,” Bev said. “I might go out in the garden for a bit.” The woman reached up and gave Bill a hug before he went up to bed, and she gave one to Stan, too. Stan leaned down and kissed her cheek before he whispered, “We’re going to be okay.” 

Bev pulled back and placed a hand on his cheek. She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes for a long moment; through all of the anxiety that he felt at most times, Bev knew that she looked to him as one of her rocks, one of the men who truly kept her balanced and moving forward. She leaned in and kissed him.

“I know we will. We have you to keep us okay.” She didn’t whisper, but her voice was soft and low anyway. 

As they made their way around the coffee table, Ben and Mike came up for a hug, too. “We’ll see you in a bit, Bevvy.” Mike said, kissing her cheek. “Don’t stay up too late.” 

Bev took in Mike, her strong, dependable Mike, and gave him a hug. If they came out, and someone outside their group released information about it into the world, Bev didn’t worry about herself or her career. To be honest, she didn’t even worry about Bill, Ben, Stan, Richie or Eddie’s much either. All of them would bounce back, but if Mike were caught up in a scandal, how would Columbia handle it? Would he be let go? Would they rescind his tenure position because of them? These were the thoughts that would keep Bev up tonight.

Mike cupped her chin and kissed her once more, “we’ll get through this.”

“I hope you’re right.” Bev said, leaning into his touch once more. 

“I know we will. I don’t have a doubt about it.” 

Bev smiled and watched as Mike and Ben made their way upstairs to bed. Richie and Eddie were standing still beside the couch waiting for Bev to finish saying goodnight. Richie had his arm around Eddie’s shoulder and Eddie had his thumb tucked into the waistband at Richie’s opposite hip. 

“Are you two headed to bed?” Bev asked, turning to leave the living room. They followed her into the kitchen.

“I’m not tired yet,” Eddie said, “and we typically don’t go to bed until after midnight anyway.”

“Yeah, so we figured we’d come out for a smoke with you.” Richie said with a smirk.

For the most part, over the years, they all had ‘quit’ smoking. Richie and Bev were the two who really had been intense smokers. Both of them, throughout their college years and early adulthood, had become ‘a pack a day’ smoker without really trying. Together, the two of them quit in their late twenties, and now only kept a pack in the kitchen junk drawer for times that were really stressful, or when the two of them got drunk together.

“Who says I was going to smoke?” Bev asked. She reached into the junk drawer and pulled out the pack and the lighter they kept with the cigarettes. She shook out one cigarette and popped it into Richie’s mouth. She shook out a second for herself, and offered the pack to Eddie, who shook his head no.

She put the pack back into the drawer and headed to the door that led out into their small garden. 

“Besides the fact that you have a cigarette in your mouth…” Richie said, pulling his out of his mouth and tucking it behind his ear. “You only come out here at this time of night to have a smoke before bed.”

Bev cocked her head to the side and gave Richie a look that said, ‘point taken.’ 

Once out in the garden, Bev sat down at the small patio table set they had. The table and chairs were black cast iron and older than the remodel. The set had come with the house when they bought it, and Richie and Stan had spent the better part of a weekend cleaning it with wire brushes to remove the rust while Eddie and Bill had pressure washed the patio to remove the moss that had started to grow over the old pavers. The garden wasn’t much; it was only the size of a postage stamp, but it had fence to keep the neighbor’s dogs out, and to give the backyard privacy from the alley and their driveway. 

The light from the kitchen illuminated the backyard. In the summer, they strung up Edison bulbs around the perimeter of the garden to give them some light as they hung out in the warm Brooklyn heat. The little grill they kept was tucked in against the house with a weather-proof cover protecting it from the snow, rain, and sun. And in the back corner, once the summer sun started to warm New York City, the family annually installed a hammock to be shared between the seven of them.

Bev flicked the lighter and lit up her cigarette with a puff to get it to ignite. She handed the lighter to Richie, who sat in the chair to her right. Eddie sat to Bev’s left, as the wind gently blew from that direction, and blew the smoke away from Eddie. While Eddie didn’t technically have asthma, the smoke did irritate him enough to get him coughing when it blew straight into his face. Richie and Bev were always very cautious about blowing smoke away from him, and even though Eddie didn’t like the smoke, he loved the way Richie and Bev smelled after a cigarette. It reminded him of them in their youth, when their love was more wild than it was now. Back before they were all really together, but when they were still slowly coming together. It reminded him of when they were seventeen, riding in the back of Mike’s old pickup down a deserted dirt lane not far from Mike’s house where they’d set up a bonfire and have a party, just the seven of them in this beautiful untouched wood where they’d drink and tell stories and have fun.

Eddie closed his eyes against the memories of them at seventeen. Twenty years together was nearly a lifetime, and yet it had passed by in the blink of an eye. 

Ben and Mike were perhaps two of the most patient people in the entire world. Neither of them were easily ruffled by changes in plans, or interruptions to schedules. Both were able to delay gratification for extended periods of time. In teaching, Mike knew that a lesson could pivot in any which direction because a question from a student veered them into a related topic, and because Ben worked as an architect he knew that there would be times that an item that was due to arrive would arrive late or would be the wrong product or would even not show up at all. Surprises happened, delays happened, derailments happened. But just because they were patient, didn’t mean that they didn’t have their own needs and wants. 

When Beverly interrupted them earlier in the evening, Ben and Mike had been in the middle of a passionate embrace. Ben had been tucked into his side on the couch and the two had been kissing deeply and petting lightly before Bev came into the room. Being the patient lovers they were, they didn’t deny Bev the comfort that she needed in that moment, even though she was willing to deny it for herself. 

Now, however, it was bedtime; Ben, Mike, Stan and Bill had been part of a rather difficult conversation, and the four of them looked forward to heavy conversations with their parents in the coming days. With that being said, Mike knew that he wasn’t entirely ready to fall asleep just yet. 

On the third floor, right before the flight up to the forth, Mike grabbed Ben’s hand and slowed his ascent. Ben turned and looked at Mike with a quizzical smile, Mike took Ben by the shoulders and gently shoved him against the wall. Bill and Stan heard the commotion and paused at the top of the stairs to look back. 

“Wha-?” Ben asked before his question was cut off by the other man’s lips. The two men were fairly evenly matched for height. Mike, at 6’4” towered over everyone else, but Ben stood nearly eye to eye with him, but only a couple inches shorter. Ben slunk back into the wall as Mike kissed him passionately. One arm went around Mike’s upper back and the other went to his hair. Mike’s hands wrapped tightly around Ben’s waist and pulled him in. Bill and Stan couldn’t stop watching.

Mike pulled back after a breathless few moments, and looked Ben in the eyes, “I wasn’t quite done with our date.” He brought a hand up to Ben’s cheek and touched their foreheads together. 

Ben closed his eyes and sighed, “I wasn’t either.”

It wasn’t often that Ben was able to let that dependable, sturdy, always-prepared wall down and let someone else take the lead. But with Mike, Ben trusted he could do that. And Mike trusted that he could do things like shoving Ben up against the wall to make out with him without hurting the other man.

At the top of the stairs, Bill leaned into Stan as they watched their lovers kiss passionately on the stairs below them. “Do you two want to make it a double date?” Stan asked, wrapping an arm around Bill’s chest.

When Eddie opened his eyes again, Richie and Bev were looking at him with bemused little grins. Richie was holding his cigarette away from his face, his elbow on the arm rest, and his wrist limp. Bev had her arm down on her arm rest, but her arm was out so ash didn’t fall on Richie’s clothes. Richie smirked and took the last drag of his cigarette before he stubbed it out on the ashtray on the table. Bev did the same.

Richie blew out the smoke and motioned for Eddie to come over, “Tired, Eds-ie? Come’re, I wanna cuddle.”

“Fuck you,” Eddie said, standing up. “It’s just as easy to say Eddie as it is whatever you just butchered my name into…” He trailed off as he came over and sat down on Richie’s lap. He threw his legs over the arm of the chair and tucked his head into Richie’s chest. 

Richie lifted Eddie’s chin and kissed him. Eddie hummed softly at the taste of Richie’s mouth; he tasted like cigarettes and greasy bar food. If it weren’t Richie, Eddie would be turned off by the taste, but the memories that flooded back at the smell were just little flashes of a long life spent together; of many nights of bar trips and smoke breaks and being too impassioned to wait until they made it home to finish what they started. 

The kiss deepened. Richie’s mouth coaxed Eddie’s open so his tongue could slide in. With a sigh, Eddie granted permission. Their tongues writhed together, neither battling for dominance, only rubbing gently, and lapping softly at one another. Soft little moans escaped from both of their throats as the sensation against their tongues made their way from Eddie’s mouth to Eddie’s core in a flash of a moment. 

This is usually what the two did to end the day. Eddie would wait up until Richie made it home from the bar. They’d sit, and they’d talk, and they’d make out and sometimes fuck while everyone else slept upstairs. Eddie’s body was primed for this by this time each night. It didn’t take much more than a kiss for Eddie’s body to respond to his lover. With an awareness that they weren’t alone, Eddie pulled off of Richie with a groan, matched by one from Richie. He turned to look at Bev who sat beside them, legs spread and eyes dark and lust filled.

“Come here,” Eddie said, standing and pulling Bev up from her seat to stand before him.

“Come here,” Mike said, pulling Ben into the master bedroom after Stan and Bill had made their way into the room. The other two were already on the bed; Bill was in Stan’s lap and they were kissing. Bill’s fingers worked to undo the buttons of Stan’s pajama shirt, slowly slipping the buttons out of their holes. 

Ben’s eyes went to the other two in the room as soon as they stepped in. His body was tense and drawn in on itself, not the usual aloof and confident man he was when he stepped into the bedroom. “Are you nervous?” Mike asked, his mouth coming to a frown. “We don’t have to do anything…”

“No-” Ben cut him off. “No. I mean. Yes, I’m a little nervous, but I don’t want to,” Ben looked down, “I don’t want to stop.” Ben’s palms were sweaty. He clenched his fists and attempted to wipe them on his sleep shirt.

Mike stepped forward and tilted Ben’s chin up until they were eye to eye. While Mike and Ben had loved each other for years upon years, their love was different than the love that they shared with any of the others. Because of the roles they found for themselves, Mike and Ben were the pillars of the family. The “men’s men”. The dominant partners. While Ben occasionally had sex with some of the other men in the family, he so very rarely allowed himself to be vulnerable enough to be the partner on the receiving end, except for when he was with Mike. 

It had taken years of work for Ben and Mike to come together, physically. The two needed time and gentle persuasion to make it happen. To this point, the only times that they had made love had happened in the privacy of their own bedroom, and never in front of the others. 

Knowing why Ben was nervous, Mike kissed him slowly and softly. “We’ll stop when you say stop, and if you don’t want them to interfere I won’t let them, okay?” He said as he broke the kiss. Mike brushed his nose against Ben’s and kissed him once more. Mike guided Ben towards the bed, but on the opposite side of where Stan and Bill were taking each other’s clothes off. 

Stan broke his kiss with Bill to watch Mike pivot and sit on the bed, and pull Ben onto his lap. He smiled and pulled Bill’s shirt off over his head, in an attempt to give the other two a chance to get more comfortable together. Bill was staring at the other two. He watched Mike’s dark hands caress Ben’s pink cheeks, a trait he had since childhood that kept him looking younger than he was. 

His chin was dipped away from the scene and Stan looked Bill in the eye and told him in a low voice, “Focus on me.” It was the voice said that Stan was in charge now, and as much as Bill wanted to watch the other two, he knew he would do what Stan wanted him to do; give the other two men a bit of privacy to let Ben get comfortable in the bedroom.

Bill pulled his shirt off, while Stan slipped out of his pajama shirt. He made quick work of folding it and putting it neatly on the floor beside the bed. Bill smirked as he tossed his shirt on the floor in a rumpled pile. A fire lit in Stan’s eyes and he flipped Bill over onto the bed and onto his back.

“I outta smack you for that.” Stan smacked Bill lightly on the backside and leaned in for a kiss. 

Beside them, Mike had taken off his shirt and leaned back onto the bed. Ben reached his arms in a cross over his hips and pulled his shirt up and over his head. Both men were fit and attractive; Ben had more defined muscles, but Mike was trim, even though he had a thick trunk. His chest hair was wiry, but he didn’t have much of it, and Ben kept his chest hairless through laser hair removal. 

Ben’s hands went to Mike’s chest as he leaned in to kiss him sweetly. The kiss started off slow, but it wasn’t long before Ben was as lost in the kiss as he had been earlier. Ben’s focus turned entirely onto Mike, and more of that self-assuredness started to show itself. Ben’s hips began to rock into Mike’s and he began to forget that Stan and Bill were even there. 

Mike carded his fingers through Ben’s hair, and gave it a little pull. Ben whimpered slightly at the sting, but his cock responded eagerly. Cautiously, Mike began to slide his fingers into the waistband of Ben’s sleep pants. Ben sat up, curling his hips into Mike’s and looked across the bed to where Stan and Bill were already naked and hardly paying attention to them.

Ben looked down with a smile at Mike and turned himself onto the bed so he could slip his pants off and encourage Mike to do the same. Ben watched Stan and Bill for a moment. Bill was on his knees at the foot of the bed and Stan had his hand in his hair. Bill’s lips were wrapped around Stan’s cock, and his eyes were closed as he took the other man in. Stan heard the other two moving and he turned his head to look back at Ben who had moved up to the top of the bed.

Stan smiled and pulled Bill’s hair. “Look at me.” He commanded. “Get up here.”

“Get up here,” Eddie said, directing Bev to have a seat on the cast iron table. It was fortunate the the table was heavy as hell. They’d sat on this table one too many times; they’d danced on it a time or two as well when they had wild backyard parties together. Bev stood from her seat and moved to the table in front of Eddie. She hopped up, and he helped her scoot back and balance just a bit.

Eddie smiled and brushed a loose strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail away from her face. Bev smiled as well. She wrapped her feet around Eddie’s legs and pulled him in a little bit closer.

“You gonna kiss me, or just stare at me, Kaspbrak?” 

Eddie chuckled and reached back for Richie, “We’ll maybe I’ll just sit here on Richie if you’re going to act like that.” Richie took his arm so he could carefully lower himself, even though Bev had a good grip on his legs.

“Don’t you dare, Edward.” Bev said, grabbing onto Eddie’s shirt and pulling him into a kiss. It wasn’t long, but it was long enough for Eddie’s grip on Richie to encourage the other man to stand behind him to keep him steady.

Bev broke away from the kiss and looked at Eddie and Richie standing there in front of her. “You’d kiss like that in front of me and not invite me to participate?”

Richie smiled and leaned in to kiss her as well. Just as he was at her lips, he said softly, “Never.”

Eddie smiled as well and moved in to kiss her neck. “No, Bev. Never.” 

The kisses were hot and needy. Eddie needed the reassurance that Bev was alright. That even though she had experienced this really awful thing earlier in the day, she was still healthy and happy and she wasn’t worried about what could potentially happen in the future. Eddie was worried about it, but he didn’t want Bev to have to worry about it too much. Worrying was Eddie’s specialty, if he could worry for someone else, he would. 

Though it was difficult, Eddie attempted to put the worry aside for Bev and Richie. It was something he had been working on with his therapist for years; allowing himself to be in the moment with his friends and lovers. With a kiss to Bev’s neck, Eddie dropped the worry just for tonight. 

As Richie kissed Bev’s mouth open, his hand reached up under the shirt of his that she was wearing. He palmed at her stomach with an open hand. His other hand grabbed Eddie’s thigh and he palmed that as well. Eddie’s hands explored the small of Richie’s back and the inside of Bev’s leg that was closest to him. In an effort to keep her balance on the table, Bev’s hands found their way to the men’s shoulders and back of their necks.

Bev broke her kiss with Richie and turned to kiss Eddie again. Richie lifted the shirt to reveal her round breasts that still stood firm even as she approached forty. Richie rubbed a rough thumb over her nipple, and she let out a soft gasp. Eddie caught her gasp with another kiss. Bev’s back arched to better reach his mouth. 

Richie pinched her nipple and Bev pulled back from kissing Eddie to look at Richie. “Do it again,” she demanded. Richie complied, rolling his thumb and finger together over her nipple. Bev tipped her head back and moaned softly. 

Eddie kissed at her neck, his hand dipped below her waistband. Bev opened her legs a little wider to provide access to her core. Eddie felt Richie’s hair brush his arm, so he looked up to find the other man licking at Bev’s nipple. 

His fingers reached Bev’s center; she was already wet and hot. He let his fingers trace along her lips before he dipped his finger in between and dragged the slickness up to her clit. Bev moaned and spread her legs wider, tilting her hips up. Her nipple popped out of Richie’s mouth, and she could feel the cool night breeze blow gently across it sending chills down her spine. 

Richie finally had a look at what Eddie was doing with his hand, and he smiled. “Let’s get you a little closer, huh?” He said to both of them.

Being much bigger than the two of them, Richie had an easy time of scooting Bev forward on the table and sliding her pants down and off of her. Bev was delighted, and she smiled up at the two. Without taking his hand away from Bev’s center, Eddie reached up with his other hand to pull Richie down into a kiss. 

Bev groaned wantonly, “Oh, fuck. I need you.”

“Oh, fuck.” Bill said from the other side of the bed. “I n-need you.”

Everyone’s clothes were off. The master bedroom had been filled with the sounds of lips smacking together, masculine moans and whimpers, hands smacking and grabbing, the slick sounds of warm, sweaty bodies grinding together. All four men were prepared for the next action. 

Bill was on his knees, his ass in the air and his chin in the pillow. Stan came up from between his legs and grabbed the lube from the bedside drawer. He poured some in his hand and coated his cock with the slick substance. He turned to Mike and smiled, leaning in for a kiss while handing off the bottle of lube to the other man. 

Mike smiled, “Mmm, you taste like Bill.” His voice was deep as pulled away from Stan slowly.

Ben was on his back watching the two kiss. His hand reached across the bed to grab on to Bill’s forearm. Bill lifted his head and smiled at Ben.

“Yuh-you’re going to b-be just fine.”

Mike leaned down to kiss Ben once more. “We only do this if you’re really ready. If you’re not, we can stop.”

Ben had to admit that he was nervous. Years and years of being on the top in his relationships with the others hadn’t prepared him as much as he had thought for being the one being penetrated. He knew, though, that he was in very good hands with Mike. Mike was gentle; whether it was with people or animals, Mike always had a way to hold them so gently and so softly that they were never afraid. Ben felt that with Mike now.

“No.” Ben said, “No, I’m ready.” His voice was a little wobbly, but he had no doubt that his experience with Mike would be unforgettable. 

“Relax, Benny.” Mike said, stroking his dry hand up Ben’s hip. 

Bill reached out to take Ben’s hand as Stan was preparing him. Bill closed his eyes as Stan curled his fingers up into his hole, and moaned as he stoked his prostate. Bill had a small smile on his face and he was breathing deeply, even though his knees were shaking. 

“Okay, Bill.” Stan said, lining himself up with Bill’s entrance. Bill let out a long deep breath. Ben watched Bill’s face as Stan eased himself in; at first Bill had a slightly pinched expression, but it wasn’t long before he was gasping in pleasure.

As Ben watched Bill’s face, Mike began stretching him to take his length. Slowly, Ben felt his muscles relax under Mike’s hands. Ben had to tear his eyes away from Bill’s face and the beautiful expressions of pleasure he was making. He looked up at Mike and smiled, actually ready for this to finally happen.

“You ready, Benny?” Mike asked, moving Ben’s legs up to his shoulders. Ben wasn’t afraid of putting his full weight into this. Mike was at least as strong as he was, if not more. He nodded and pulled himself up for a kiss as Mike slowly pushed himself inside Ben, filling him up for the first time.

It was uncomfortable, but it didn’t hurt. Mike went slow, watching Ben’s face for any signs of pain or discomfort. It was uncomfortable, but it didn’t hurt, not in the way Ben was nervous it would. He exhaled and closed his eyes for just a moment, and when he opened them again, Mike smiled down at him.

“How are you feeling, love? Ready for me to move?”

Stan and Bill were fucking frantically beside them, loud gasps and moans spilling from their mouths as their bodies smacked together with slick heat. They were used to this, used to this movement. Ben was used to watching, occasionally being on the other side with Stan or Eddie, but being here in this position was new to him.

He nodded, “I’m ready.”

“I’m ready,” Bev said, her voice strong and sure. 

Richie had his pants low at his waist and Bev had her legs open around his hips. Eddie stood close beside the two of them, leaning in to kiss Bev and pulling Richie down for a kiss for himself. It didn’t take him long to slide into her.

Bev moaned, her fingers gripping at the cast iron table, and the back of her legs feeling cold in comparison to the heat between them. She pushed herself up so that she could reach Eddie just a little better. She motioned at him to undo his pants, and her hand went into his pants as she leaned over to kiss him once again.

“Faster, Richie.” She said, “I need you. Fuck me, Richie.”

“Christ,” Eddie said looking between the two of them. “You both look so hot like this.” He said, his voice was low and deep.

Eddie’s hand lifted Richie’s shirt up on his chest so he could play with the other man’s nipple. Sweat was beginning to dampen the front of Richie’s shirt and at his lower back. Eddie could see sweat roll down Richie’s temple and he could smell the musk between the two blowing toward him from the breeze. 

“Fuck,” His nose reached out and nuzzled at Richie’s neck while his fingers twisted and pulled. Richie moaned. Bev gasped. “Look at how hot you are. Rich, you’re so hard for Bev. God, look at you both, fucking as if your lives depended on it.”

Eddie licked at Richie’s throat, then turned to kiss Bev who still had a firm grasp on his dick, pulling and pumping as he talked to the both of them.

“Keep talking, Eddie.” Bev said when he pulled away. “Fuck, your mouth is so dirty. Keep talking to us.”

Eddie smiled and kissed her again. “Can you feel it when Richie’s getting close? The way his cock will twitch inside you? He’s just so big that he fills you up entirely. Christ, Bev. I bet if I put my hand on your stomach like this,” he put his hand right over her pubic bone, “I bet I could feel Richie fucking you from out here.”  
His fingers dipped lower, back to her clit. “How fast do you think you’ll come if I play with you here?” Eddie began to rub circles over her sensitive nub. 

“Fuck, Eddie.” Richie hissed out. His glasses were fogging up from exertion.

Eddie took his other hand from Richie’s nipple and began playing with the other man’s balls. “How fast do you think Richie would come if I fingered him?” Eddie pressed the knuckle of his first finger up into the space just behind Riche’s balls. 

Richie faltered with the pressure, “Oh, Jesus. Yes.” 

Bev moaned as well, “Fuck, Ed, you’re right. God, he twitches.”

Before long the two weren’t able to get much more than words out. They were just harsh breath and desperate moans. Bev tipped her head back and begged, “Right there! Right there!” Sweat beads rolled between her breasts, and Richie’s shirt stuck to his back with sweat.

“Come for us, Bev.” Eddie said, his finger rolling around her clit quickly. “Come, baby.” 

With a couple desperate cries, Eddie and Richie could see a slow shudder roll through Bev, tensing her and releasing her as she orgasmed on Richie’s dick and Eddie’s fingers.

“Oh fuck, so good.” Richie moaned. Eddie pulled him into a kiss.

“Let go, baby.” Eddie said, his lips only a hairsbreadth away from Richie’s mouth. “Just let go.”

“Just let go,” Mike said into Ben’s neck. Ben worked on relaxing his shoulders and letting Mike have full access to his body. He took a deep breath and Mike slid his long dick out of Ben’s ass, and slowly pushed back in again. 

Stan and Bill had changed positions slightly. Both were kneeling now on the bed, Bill sitting on Stan’s lap, and Stan sitting on his knees to piston himself up into Bill’s ass. Bill had his eyes closed and his head resting back on Stan’s shoulder. “Fuck, yes.” Bill was saying. Stan was sucking a mark in the other man’s neck.

“I think…” Ben started, and Mike paused looking expectantly at Ben. “Can we try this another way?”

Mike pulled out with a nod, “Of course.” He wasn’t even upset that he hadn’t gotten very far with Ben before he needed to switch. It was further than the two of them had gotten before.

“Will you lay on your back?” Ben asked, his voice slightly unsure. Mike was fine with reversing positions. He reached over to the bedside table to hand Ben the lube. 

“I think I’m fine, I just need…” 

Mike frowned a little, unsure of what Ben wanted if he didn’t want Mike to be on the receiving end right now. At least he was until he was settled down on his back and Ben climbed on top of him. Slowly, Ben guided Mike’s cock to his hole and he slid himself down on it.

The two were still face to face, and Ben was still receiving it, but in this position, Ben was better able to control how fast he went, and how deep Mike’s dick went. Mike smiled and pushed himself up to kiss Ben for doing this in a way that worked best for him.

Mike lowered himself back down and let his hands rest on Ben’s hips. It wasn’t the most comfortable position and it would take a lot of work for Ben to fuck himself on Mike, but of anyone, Mike trusted that Ben could do it.

“Oh, that’s… wow.” Ben smiled.

“Feel good?” Mike asked. He gently pushed his hips up, angled to hopefully hit Ben’s prostate.

“Oh!” Ben cried, seeing stars for the first time. “Oh, that’s good. That’s really good.”

Mike began to help Ben lift himself up and down, and Mike tried to angle himself so that he was hitting Ben’s prostate as often as he could. It wasn’t long before Ben was keening with need. 

The sounds of Mike and Ben were matched in intensity with Stan and Bill. The two men were close. Stan’s hand had wrapped around Bill’s cock, and Stan fucked into Bill with such intensity. His teeth sunk into Bill’s shoulder, and Bill cried out. “Oh, huh-huh-harder!” 

Stan bit down more, sure to leave a bruise the next day. With that, Bill began spilling cum on the sheets and blankets in front of him. His eyes squeezed shut as his body released. With a few grunts, Stan was coming as well.

It was as if a switch turned on in Ben as he heard the two other men coming. His hand went to his cock, and he pulled expertly against his erection. “Mike,” he said softly as he looked at the man beneath him. 

Ben leaned back a little and pulled Mike up so they could kiss. “I love you.” Ben said, looking deep into Mike’s eyes. They said it often, but this time felt different. Ben looked more vulnerable than he ever had before. His eyes were wide and open, and Mike could see that young boy who welcomed him into the group with such kindness here in the man who loved him with the same kindness.

Mike kissed him again, “I love you. I always will.” Their lips remained connected as Ben reached his peak. He huffed little high pitched whines into Mike’s mouth as the orgasm rolled through him. 

“Oh fuck. Oh, Mike.” 

Ben’s come landed on Mike’s stomach and Mike pumped into the other man until his orgasm was finished. Mike helped Ben pull off of him and helped him lay down beside him. They continued kissing as Mike wrapped a hand around his own dick and finished himself off. 

Eddie wrapped his hand around his dick, ready to finish himself off when Richie pulled his hand away and dropped to his knees in front of Eddie. Eddie groaned, wrapping his fingers in Richie’s hair and pulling gently.

“Oh, fuck. Richie.” Eddie said as the other man swallowed around his cock.

Richie was talented at this. He had a very skilled tongue, which didn’t come to much of a surprise to the others, but it was always a welcome blessing. 

Bev gingerly pulled herself off of the table and reached for her underwear and the borrowed pair of sweats she took from Eddie. As soon as she was dressed, she was standing behind Eddie, her chin over his shoulder and her hands running under his shirt and over his chest. 

Eddie turned his head and kissed her deeply. He was close. He panted softly against her mouth as Richie took him whole. “Fuck, Bev.” He whined. “He’s so good. God, his tongue.” Eddie was at this point fairly unable to put together sentences. Each time he tried to speak, he was cut off by a moan that escaped his mouth. 

Bev silenced him with a kiss, worried in a small way about neighbors and those passing by on the street. Eddie stiffened, his orgasm quickly approaching. Bev wrapped her arms around his chest, and Richie held onto his legs. He came with a full body shudder, and a firm grip on Richie’s hair to keep him stabilized. 

Richie pulled off of Eddie with a soft pop. He dabbed at the corner of his mouth where spit and cum had dribbled out, then he reached over to pull Eddie’s pants back over his hips. 

“Oh, fuck. That was good, Rich.” Eddie said, pulling the taller man up for a kiss when Bev released him from her mouth. Richie smiled and leaned down, happy to kiss his lover. 

The three stayed outside for a little longer. Bev had gone back in for another couple cigarettes, and when she came out, Eddie took a drag off of Richie’s after the other man had lit his. He gave it back with a light cough, but he was relaxed enough to not care too much.

They walked back inside, closer to midnight, and quietly went around the downstairs turning off lights and making sure things were ready to go for the morning. They tiptoed upstairs, expecting to find their lovers asleep.

The first thing that hit them was the intense mugginess of the room, and the smell that only sex can bring. Mike and Ben were asleep on their sides, tucked into one another. Bill was asleep behind Mike, his back touching the other man’s back. All three of them had nothing but their boxers on. A light was on in the bathroom. The door was cracked and Eddie could see that Stan had just stepped out of the shower. 

Richie was the first to speak in a harsh whisper. “It smells like sex in here.”

“I think we missed a party.” Bev added, looking at the three sleeping men and peeking back at the cracked bathroom doorway. 

“Fuck, I think Mike and Ben finally got together.” Eddie said, looking at the way the two were curled together around one another. 

“God damnit, and we missed it?” Richie said, completely outraged that he had missed the first time Ben and Mike had been together in front of the others. Until Stan or Bill spilled what had happened, the other three would be left in the dark at Ben and Mike’s first time together in the Master Bedroom.


End file.
